


Better With Three

by Hawkerin



Series: The New Stuff of Legend [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-09
Updated: 2015-04-15
Packaged: 2018-03-22 01:45:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 76,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3710212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawkerin/pseuds/Hawkerin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU continuation directly after "The Other Side." The new Doctor and Rose have finally found the other Doctor. This is the story of their continuing adventures together.<br/>** Before people start reading this, you really do need to read “The Other Side” first.  If you have, then here's a quick recap/reminder.... Rose has regenerated and is no longer 'played' by Billy Piper in my stories (I love her to bits, but it didn't fit with doing the whole Trial of a Time Lord thing).  She is now 'played' by Lynda Bellingham (who was an incredible actress that unfortunately died recently from cancer).  'Doctor Tyler' refers to the meta-crisis Doctor, as played by David Tennant (although in my story he has aged an apparent 10 years which would make him look remarkably like the actor does in real life now) and 'The Doctor' refers to Peter Capaldi's Doctor.  This story takes place about a year after Journey's End from Rose's point of view and immediately after Death in Heaven from The Doctor's point of view.  Enjoy!! **</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. We Meet Again

Better With Three: Chapter One – We Meet Again

In the courtyard outside of Madam Vastra's house, the TARDIS materialized. Rose and Doctor Tyler stood in front of it with their hands clasped together. When the door didn't open, they approached and entered it using Rose's key.

They both felt the TARDIS welcoming them home and they returned her greeting with waves of affection. They looked around the console room and noticed that it had changed again from the one they had just seen.

The room was tall, dimly lit and had the overall impression of brushed metal. They climbed the stairs towards the console and saw an older, angry looking Doctor leaning both hands on the edge of the console and looking at them with barely restrained angry suspicion. In a thick Scottish accent, he immediately began asking questions, “How did you hijack my TARDIS? And who ... is that? Honestly, first I've got Father Christmas coming through the door asking what I'd like for Christmas and then I've got past versions of myself yanking my TARDIS across time and space. How many more impossible things can happen to me today?” He directed the questions towards the other Doctor and pointed at Rose rudely.

Rose smirked and said, “Oh, come now Doctor, you and I eat impossible for breakfast.”

The older looking Doctor glanced at the woman that he didn't recognize confusedly. He hadn't heard that phrase in a very, very long time.

“Father Christmas? Really?” Doctor Tyler asked.

The Doctor waved him off. “Oh, I'll deal with him later. And you still haven't answered my questions. Who is she?”

“I think,” Doctor Tyler began, “that we can answer all the questions by linking up.”

Doctor Tyler closed his eyes patiently and said, “Contact.”

The other Doctor rolled his eyes dramatically, “Oh, do you really want to do it that way? It's such a stupid way of doing it. Although, I suppose it is less painful than how I did it with Craig.” He waited a moment for a witty reply, but Doctor Tyler just kept his eyes closed and was obviously waiting, though with fading patience. “Oh, fine. Contact,” the Doctor said, heaving a sigh and closed his eyes.

Linking telepathically (as they often did when meeting up with past versions of themselves to quickly catch up on the situation), Doctor Tyler was able to quickly share with the other Doctor all of his memories over the past year since the meta-crisis split. He included the trouble in the other universe, Rose's regeneration, the discovery of his rapid aging, the trial and what he discovered in the Matrix as well as the messages they received from the Bad Wolf program. 

While a part of his mind tried to process all that he had just learned in the transfer, the older Doctor took the opportunity to share the events leading to his regeneration from the version that had left them. He also shared the relationships with River, Amy and Rory, the dangerous situation of his faked death and the battles on Trenzalore leading up to his most recent regeneration and the recent events involving Clara, the Mistress (Master) and his failed search for Gallifrey.

When both Doctors opened their eyes, Doctor Tyler gently wrapped his arm around Rose's shoulders in an unconscious desire for support. The other Doctor looked at them in dumbfounded shock. The older looking Doctor fell onto the seat near him and covered his face with his hands. He looked tense and unsure of what to do next, so Rose took that as her cue to sit next to him and put an arm over his shoulders. Rose expected him to lean into her and relax a little, but he actually seemed to tense up more at the contact. She tried not to take the response personally and stayed there.

Through his hands, he finally spoke, but his voice sounded choked with sadness, “It's been one thousand years, Rose.... one thousand years and I still can't stand a single day without you being here.” At that, he broke and held her tightly as he buried his face into her shoulder. There were no tears, but his shoulders shook in silent agony. “Are you really here? Am I dreaming again?”

Rose hugged him back tightly as she looked up at her husband to acknowledge between them that he did indeed need them as much as she had thought. “I'm here, Doctor. And we're never leaving you again.” This meeting with him confirmed that she didn't feel the marriage bond with this version of the Doctor. While it went into her husband's past before the split, it didn't continue on with this Doctor after it. She tried looking for that sense that she was told about, the feeling of another Time Lord mind, but she couldn't seem to find it. They would need to help her with that later. For now, Rose held him closely through his catharsis.

After a few moments of silence, they were only slightly surprised when another hologram of Rose (as she used to look) appeared in the room with them.

“This is the final portion of the Bad Wolf program. All parts of the plan are now ready for completion. Rose and the TARDIS together as the Bad Wolf planned everything. In that moment, they saw all that ever could be. And so they caused the separation, reuniting, the meta-crisis, Rose's regeneration and transformation, and their journey back to you, Doctor. At this precise moment in time, when you would need them the most.” There was a brief pause in the recitation, but the hologram had none of the charm and personality that they were so used to seeing from that face. “There have been difficult times for you while they were gone, but you had friends to help you through. Now, when everyone else has gone and the weight of the universe feels like it will suffocate you, the two people who understand that the most are here.” 

The hologram looked briefly towards Rose and Doctor Tyler before continuing in the same monotonous cadence, “You have been questioning whether you are a good man. Remember all the times that you saved the entire universe, remember all the people you have saved throughout time and space, and remember that you said Rose made you better. She can do it again. You can complete the process that was learned of in the Matrix. It was planned for and it is necessary. But be aware, it will create a bond between the three of you. Only on the surface from the process, but it can be deepened and that is what the Bad Wolf intended. Do not push them away, Doctor, they are here to help. And I know what your Christmas wish was. End of message.” The hologram, which had up to this point behaved in a cold and computer-like manner, suddenly relaxed its posture and gave them all a patented Rose Tyler grin with her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth and waved before disappearing in a golden flash.

“You just refuse to let me be miserable don't you, Rose Tyler?” the Doctor said as he shook his head in wonder.

Rose laughed at that and asked hopefully, “Better with three?”

“Well,” the Doctor said as he wrung his hands a little worriedly. “I think, before we go about creating any bonds between us (despite the fact that we don't have much choice in order to save everyone from dying) it might be best if the two of you got to know this me a bit first, eh? You never know, you might decide that dying is better than centuries with me.” The Doctor left Rose's side to fiddle with some controls on the console ineffectually in an effort to hide his insecurity.

Rose tsked and frowned at him, “Doctor...”

Doctor Tyler knew that the other Doctor wouldn't handle chastisement well at this point and interjected, “There has usually been a bit of, umm... tension whenever I meet myself. But then, if there were going to be two of any Time Lord, it should definitely be me. Let's go somewhere to get reacquainted, shall we?” Doctor Tyler grinned and asked his wife, “Where would you like to go, Dame Rose?”

“I know just the place,” Rose answered and sent her husband the memory of a pink sunset and giant flying manta rays with a promise of forever. “And you're going to show me how to fly us there!”

The Doctor frowned at their commandeering of his vehicle and looked over the other Doctor's shoulder as the coordinates were set. He smiled at Rose when he realized where they were going. She knew that slight acknowledgement of her choice was significant for this closed off Doctor. Both Doctors guided her around the controls as she piloted their first trip together. They landed with the usual thud, but no one was thrown to the floor in the process.

“She's been flying much more smoothly, lately in general,” the Doctor told them. “So long as there aren't any of Clara's sticky-fingered, pudding brains following her in here.”

Rose elbowed him in the ribs. “Rude, Doctor.”

“Yes, and still not ginger,” he replied with a smirk.

They left the TARDIS with Rose in the middle and a Doctor holding each of her hands. The sky was pink again; it was exactly as she remembered it. They walked together and enjoyed the beautiful landscape until they found a place to sit and talk on some fairly flat rocks.

“I love the accent, though it might take some getting used to,” Rose said to the Doctor.

“Yours will as well, Rose. I'm used to regenerating myself, but it's been so long since I've spent any time with other Time Lords, I'm not used to other people changing like that. You are, of course, just as lovely as ever,” he told her as he took some time to look at all the changes since he saw her last. 

It had been such a long time for him that he could have forgotten so many of the details about her, but he hadn't. Every day for the past thousand years, he'd spent at least a few minutes remembering her. He had wanted to make sure that the love who had seared herself upon his hearts was never forgotten in any way.

“Do you remember all of our past meetings now? Have all the memories come back?” Rose asked as she leaned back to look at the giant creatures gliding through the sky.

“Yes, I think so. It's all so long ago now, that even with them accessible, not everything is as clear as it could be. Some of it, of course, is from what you shared with me, Doctor.... are we going to keep calling each other, Doctor? This could get confusing over the centuries.” He smirked at the thought of being with them for so long. Neither of them had said it, but if this process to share her regenerations with Doctor Tyler worked, it would indeed form a bond between all three of them, he would essentially be married to them as well. They hadn't seemed to object to the idea, in fact, it seemed that Rose herself had arranged it all this way when she was the Bad Wolf.

“Well,” Doctor Tyler said as he rubbed his neck. “We've been introducing me as Doctor Tyler recently, to avoid having people confuse me with you on our travels. Except that one time when we met up with River.” He chuckled at the memory and Rose began to laugh as well.

The Doctor looked at them questioningly and Doctor Tyler held up the wrist with the vortex manipulator attached. The Doctor groaned, “Oh, that's why she kept arguing with me about having stolen her vortex manipulator during our trip to Darillium! It was all your fault.”

“She was the one that interrupted our picnic,” Rose said once her laughter was under control.

“I suppose we can continue to call you Doctor Tyler. It's better than Sand Shoes or Pinstripes or something.” The Doctor smirked when his counterpart frowned at those suggestions. “But it means you're both Tylers and I don't get to be a Tyler too,” he pulled Rose against his side and thought about the fact that he was not a hugger this time around. He had been adamantly against hugging ever since he regenerated. But for Rose, he would throw all of those rules out the bloody window. Well, as he had told Clara, hugging usually meant hiding your face from the other person. There were ways around that, of course.

Rose hugged him around the waist, happy that he seemed to be accepting and even welcoming of them being back on the TARDIS. She had been so worried that he would push them away. This only showed how lonely and damaged he must be. How much he really did need them.

“We could call me Mrs. Doctor and we could all three be Doctors that way,” Rose laughed at the absurd notion.

“I'm sure we'll figure something out,” Doctor Tyler said as he joined the other Doctor in wrapping one arm around Rose's waist, crossing over the other Doctor's arm and not displacing him. They could make this work. If anyone could, it would be this new trio, the New Stuff of Legends.

The Doctor had shared some of his memories with Doctor Tyler, but he didn't have that connection with Rose yet, so when they found a spot where they could all sit together and watch the creatures flying overhead in the pink sky, he took some time to tell her about the life that she'd missed with him. 

“After I left the two of you, I lost Donna as well. The meta-crisis was burning her mind and the only way that I could save her was to suppress all the memories of me and what we did together.” Rose and her husband both took his hands in support and the three of them mourned the loss of the amazing changes in Donna while she travelled the universe and learned her true value. She would never remember the hero she had become and the emotional growth she went through; would never again be that wonderful person. She was alive and safe and presumably happy, but she would never remember how she had been the most important woman in the whole of creation.

“I went a bit mad to be honest. I was alone, which is always a bad idea. Tried to change the outcome of a fixed point at Bowie Base One.” Doctor Tyler gasped at that and the Doctor continued, “I tried to save Adelaide Brooke, but her death is what inspired her granddaughter to lead the human race out into the universe. She could see that it was wrong of me to try to change things and killed herself to fix my mistake. Rose, you know how bad it is to mess around with fixed points, I thought I was in charge and I could make my own rules. To hell with reapers because I was the Time Lord Victorious.” Rose took his hand and squeezed it as she realized just how broken he had been after losing both her and Donna.

“Then the Ood called me with a warning about the Master returning. Rassilon was the Lord President of Gallifrey and he had planted a drum beat in the Master's head that he had heard throughout his life. It drove him mad and they used it as a link to try and pull Gallifrey out of the time lock. I broke the link and stopped them, but when it was all over, I had to regenerate. Rose, do you remember New Year's Eve of 2005?”

Rose tried to think back to her life before the Doctor. “Maybe... Oh my god! That was you!”

“Your face was the first one that version of me ever saw and I wanted it to be the last as well. My next life was so different. Of course, you two were following me a bit during that, so you have some clues about it,” the Doctor continued in his story.

Rose had been curious about one thing. She wasn't upset about it, but needed to understand why he had chosen to change the rules that he had stuck to so adamantly while she was with him as soon as she was gone. “Can you tell me about River? I mean, Vastra told us that she was Amy and Rory's daughter and that she was kidnapped before she was born, raised with conditioning to kill you. I get all that, and please don't think that I'm objecting, I just want to understand... Why was she your wife?” Rose asked with genuine curiosity.

The Doctor sighed as he thought about the answer to that. He wanted to give her honesty now, it was important to embark on this new journey together without deceit. “Other than the fact that it seemed to be set in stone from the time I first met her that she would know my name, I guess I felt that I owed it to her. She was conceived on the TARDIS, raised with her whole life centred around me, forced to be raised with her parents but not by them, then she had to spend almost the entire rest of her life in prison to maintain the illusion that she had really killed me and as a result, she thought she loved me. I know I didn't have to make her my wife just because of that, but you were gone and I thought maybe it would help to let River, Amy and Rory in.” He stood up and started pacing slowly.

“I thought that if I let River and Amy and Rory into my hearts that it wouldn't hurt so much. It helped at the time, but it was all doomed from the start. There were only so many days in River's timeline that I could fill before she went to The Library, and Amy could never be around forever. By letting them in so deeply, it only hurt that much more when they were gone. 

“It was exactly what I was afraid of with you, Rose. Only with you I fell deeply in love before I even knew it and it hurt so much when you were gone. With them, I should have known better. It was a conscious decision to let them all in, even though I knew it would never last. Maybe because it should have been my last regeneration, I thought I could stretch it out until the end. I don't even remember anymore.” He stopped pacing for a moment and crossed his arms in frustration.

He started pacing again as he continued, “When I met Clara, I thought it would be just like it was with Donna and Amy. You know, best friends larking about the universe. Then it started getting more flirty. She wanted me to pretend to be her boyfriend in front of her family! I didn't want to pretend to be in a relationship with anyone again. I didn't want to pretend that my hearts weren't already trapped in another universe with no way of coming back to me. Love is a promise and I'd already made a promise of forever with you, Rose, even if I never did manage to get the words out properly at the time. When I regenerated again, I decided that I wanted a form that would push things back to the way they used to be. An old man like me and a young friend, nothing more. I had no desire for more. And then you, Rose... You had to come marching back through the TARDIS doors.”

Rose and her husband both stood up to stand by him and stop his pacing. They both hugged him around the waist and he stood awkwardly for a moment with his arms comically up in the air before he hugged them back. Yes, he could get used to the hugging as long as it was only with them.

Rose looked up into his face and told him assuredly, “You never have to be alone again, Doctor. We will always be here, from now on. The Stuff of Legends, remember?”

He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead. 

Doctor Tyler thought they should make sure Rose was comfortable with the impending changes in their relationship (even if she was the one who constructed the whole situation), “So, are we ok, then? The three of us being together? It certainly isn't an unheard of kind of relationship, but not generally accepted in the society you were raised in, Rose.”

“You're both the Doctor,” she said as she smiled at both of them. “You both love me and I love the Doctor. Besides, what woman wouldn't want two men adoring her? I'm not sure what kind of reaction we'll get from Jack when we see him again though.” She laughed and they both hugged her from each side.

“Well,” said Doctor Tyler, “I have a feeling that this sharing of regeneration energy might be rather taxing on all of us. Since we're all liable to need a nap afterwards, I would suggest that we find somewhere comfortable to get that out of the way and then we can all rest for a good long time.”

In agreement, they walked back to the TARDIS together and the Doctor led them to his bedroom. It would certainly be the most comfortable place to rest. When they got there, they found that the TARDIS had made some changes for them. The bed was huge. Of course, if it was meant for three, it would have to be. The bedding was soft, but not slippery and the colours of the room were soft blues and greys. There were now three closet doors, one for each of them and the TARDIS had already moved the contents of the bags they had been carrying around into their closets.

They all thanked the TARDIS for the changes as they removed their various coats and shoes to be more comfortable. It occurred to Rose that her large dress and corset weren't terribly comfortable, but she had promised her husband that he would be the one to take it off of her and now didn't seem like the time, so she just removed her shoes and let her hair down for the time being. The TARDIS hummed happily and dimmed the lighting a little in response. 

The three of them sat in a little circle on the bed and held hands. Following the information that Doctor Tyler had found in the Matrix, the Doctor connected his mind with theirs to act as an anchor. This would be similar to what River had done for him once, only she couldn't control it and had given him all of her remaining regenerative energy. It was his job to help control the transfer and make sure that the energy was equal between them. He contemplated adding in some of his own to make it even between the three of them, but he thought it was likely that he would be protecting the two of them to keep them from regenerating quite as often as him and they could always do something like this again if they found there was a large imbalance in the future.

As their minds came together, the Doctor's felt icy cool and harder than Doctor Tyler's refreshing water-like sensation and both Doctors basked in the golden warmth of Rose's mind. The Doctor held them steady as the energy moved from Rose into Doctor Tyler and the meta-crisis was wiped away as his physiology was transformed back into that of a full Time Lord. Golden light flowed around all of them and in the end, the three of them were indeed all bound together telepathically. The bond was still slightly uneven as the Doctor wasn't as deeply bonded with either of them as they were with each other, but they could deepen the bond as time went on and they grew closer. They had just enough energy left to crawl under the covers and the Doctors made a Rose sandwich as they snuggled on either side of her before they all fell asleep.


	2. It's Definitely Better With Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Threesome stuff, this is about as explicit as my story gets. I'm still leaving it rated M, but if you think it should be E, let me know. NSFW

Chapter Two – It's Definitely Better With Three

 

When Rose awoke, the younger looking Doctor was kissing her neck as he unlaced the back of her dress and the older looking Doctor was stroking his long fingers through her hair. As she became more aware, she noticed that both of them had stripped and Doctor Tyler seemed to be intent on getting her to a similar state of undress soon. Rose assumed that they must have discussed this a bit while she was sleeping and if they were ok with sharing, she was not going to complain.

Rose hummed happily at the feelings of lust she felt in her links to both of them. They both helped her out of the restrictive Victorian gown and gazed at her lustfully as she lay on the bed in just a corset, knickers and stockings. Doctor Tyler went straight for the laces on the corset, while the Doctor unfastened her garters and peeled her stockings off of her legs. She didn't notice which of them removed her knickers before they were back by her sides. The Doctor instantly claimed her mouth and continued running his fingers through her long blonde locks. The kiss was forceful and passionate as he took out the frustrations of the centuries without her by his side. Doctor Tyler meanwhile was slowly sucking on her breast and running his hand softly in little circles on the hip and thigh closest to him.

Doctor Tyler had decided that, at least this first time, he would allow the other Doctor to take the more active role in this. The experiences he already had as her husband gave him the confidence to not feel intimidated by this shift in their relationship. He would certainly enjoy himself in the activities right now, but he wouldn't get in the way of the other Doctor as he explored her body for the first time.

The Doctor continued to ravish Rose's mouth as one of his hands left her hair and started roaming lower. She moaned as he pinched at her nipple while the other Doctor sucked harder at the same time. The Doctor didn't leave his hand there for long though and soon his cool fingers were making their way towards her quickly dampening centre. Rose dug her fingers into both of their hair and ground her hips up into the Doctor's hand as he touched her.

Rose felt like she must have died and gone to heaven. Two mouths and two sets of hands, all intent on pleasing her. She was amazed at the difference in the first time with this Doctor compared to what the first time was like with the other. After their bonding, he had been so nervous and tentative at first. This Doctor was diving in with a ferocity that stoked the flames building inside her. 

“Oh, you're so bloody gorgeous,” the Doctor growled into her ear as he pressed his erection into her hip. He put one leg between hers and continued to twist his fingers inside her as he stimulated the places that he could feel brought her the most pleasure through their bond.

“Doctor!” she cried and both of them moaned in response.

The Doctor was on her in an instant. He replaced his fingers with his solid length and drove into her hard. Rose was making little cries with each thrust and Doctor Tyler backed out of the way and watched them as he stroked his own erection. The Doctor grabbed both her wrists and held them tightly over her head. He could feel that she liked how rough he was being with her and used that encouragement to continue his pounding pace. Rose wrapped her legs around his hips so she could meet his every thrust. She liked that he was being forceful, but she wouldn't remain passive by any means.

With just a few more strokes, the Doctor was emptying himself inside her with a groan and as soon as he rolled out of the way, Doctor Tyler quickly took his place. Rose hadn't even caught her breath from being taken so hard and fast before she found herself pinned beneath her other husband. He was usually more gentle and playful, but feeling how much she liked this change from their usual style through their bond, he decided to keep up the pace the other had set. 

He hooked his elbows behind her knees and pressed her legs up towards her shoulders. Rose was unaccustomed to him thrusting so deeply and she cried out in response, “Fuck! Oh, Doctor!” He went faster at that and in no time she was clenching around him tightly and pulled him down into a passionate kiss. He followed her over the precipice immediately and all three of them basked in the euphoric feelings that flowed through their bond.

They were all panting from the exertion despite all having a respiratory bypass system and snuggled into a sweaty heap as six hearts began to slow their thundering paces.

“I love you, Rose Tyler,” the Doctor said at last and stroked some hair out of her eyes. “I've waited a thousand years to say that to you and I mean it with both my hearts.”

Rose responded with the Gallifreyan words of devotion that he had said to her before they were separated. The ones that the other had said to her their first night together, and that she had said to her husband right before she regenerated. The same words that the two of them had said to each other when they exchanged bonding pendents on Gallifrey. Now it was this Doctor's turn to hear her say to him what was once translated as, “You were/are/ever will be the most precious and beloved person in all my lives, past, present, and future. My hearts always have/do/will yearn for yours to be near me and make me whole.”

Both Doctors hugged her tighter at those words and she felt waves of adoration flowing over her through their link.

“We can't get another pendant, can we?” Rose asked. “Could we replicate it or something?”

Doctor Tyler provided one option, “We could cut this stone in half to make two. They would be smaller, but it wouldn't be a copy then.” He thought about how true that was of the two of them really. They had split during the meta-crisis, he wasn't a copy and the pendant shouldn't be either.

“I think that is a marvellous idea,” the Doctor said. “We can get to work on that later. Where shall we go today, my dearest Rose? Deserts? Dungeons? Gangsters?” Any of his previous experiments with sexual activity couldn't compare with how this made him feel. He thought he could take on anything the universe could throw at them now.

Rose closed her eyes and hummed in thought. She could easily allow them to spend the day wearing her out right here, but they really should go do something together. Plenty of time for playing later. “We need to find some trouble,” she smirked. She knew what life was like with the Doctor and trouble was what the three of them craved.

“With you around, that's a given, love,” Doctor Tyler responded. “Let's start with a shower, I think. Then we can go see what the scanners say and find ourselves an adventure.”

Their shower took an exceptionally long time due to the fact that both Doctors had very different ideas on the best way to wash Rose's hair (among other things), but in the end they were all dressed in their usual clothes with Rose choosing a slightly shorter than usual, red, flared skirt with her white blouse and red mary janes.

By the time Rose entered the console room, after taking the time to put on a little bit of makeup and braid her hair, her two boys were arguing again. Rose rolled her eyes and joined them by the screen to see what kind of trouble they might find to solve today.

“I don't think it's fair for you to keep the name Doctor while I have to change mine,” Doctor Tyler said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Well, I don't think it's fair that you should get to be a Tyler with Rose while I get stuck with Smith or something,” the Doctor answered.

Rose put a hand on each of their shoulders and said, “I can solve this right now and start calling you Tigger and Eeyore.” They both stared at her in disgust and she couldn't help but laugh uproariously. At least they had stopped shouting for the moment. “Alright, boys, where are we going?” she asked once she managed to stop giggling.

“Well,” Doctor Tyler said as he shook off the idea of being Tigger. “There doesn't appear to be any trouble per se, BUT while I've already taken you to Barcelona on the parallel Earth, we never did make it to Barcelona the planet.” He opened his mouth and pressed the tip of his tongue against to roof of his mouth as he gave her a saucy look.

“Hmmmm. Is this meant to be honeymoon number two? I do remember you saying something once about how many wedding nights we could tally up,” Rose flirted back.

The Doctor that had just entered the marriage, shifted awkwardly for a moment before asking, “Would you like to have another wedding, Rose? We could, you know.”

Realizing that her newest husband was feeling left out, Rose wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him sweetly. “Is that something that you'd like, Doctor? I don't want you two to feel unequal with me even if I've been with him a little bit longer.”

The Doctor turned away from her and fiddled with some controls as he avoided eye contact with either of them. “I suppose it doesn't really matter. There isn't anyone to invite, it would be more for us than anything.”

Rose and Doctor Tyler looked at each other thoughtfully as he continued to try and look busy but was really running away from the question he had asked. Rose thought to Doctor Tyler, ~'He needs this doesn't he?'~

~'He is definitely feeling insecure right now, it might help. He would probably also like to be able to do what we're doing now.'~ he answered.

Rose stopped the Doctor from flipping more switches ineffectually by placing her hand over his. She looked him in the eyes reassuringly as she said, “I'd love to have a wedding for the three of us, Doctor. We could invite your friends Vastra, Jenny and Strax? Maybe we can try to find Jack, Mickey and Martha? Or it can just be us, whatever you'd like.”

“And I need to work on splitting this pendant before then,” Doctor Tyler added as he put an arm over both of their shoulders.

The Doctor tried to bury his insecurity back behind his steel walls. He wanted desperately to move on from the domestic topic. “I think, we should see what trouble we can find on Barcelona for now while we consider all of the fiddly details another time. I'm sure, Rose Tyler, that with you around we are bound to find something to fix. You have always been jeopardy friendly.”

“I think I still prefer being called, Sagacity,” she smirked.

“That you are, my love,” Doctor Tyler said as he hugged her from behind and kissed her neck. “But I will have to go with him on your ability to attract trouble. We couldn't even have a nice date night without me having to chase down an invasion of Tribbles.”

The Doctor cringed, “Ugh, not those blasted things. Furry little blobs of annoying personified.”

“You're telling me, and she went and fed them! I had to spend two days rounding up the fuzzy rodents and listening to their inane trilling,” Doctor Tyler rubbed his forehead in remembrance of the headache it had given him.

“Fed them?! Rose, what in the world would possess you to feed Tribbles? I thought you were a Trekkie when you called me Mr. Spock,” the Doctor asked pointedly.

“As I told him,” she defended, pointing at Doctor Tyler, “it was a little before my time. That's the only character I even knew from the show and all I knew was that he was an alien.”

“Although,” Doctor Tyler said with a smirk, “we could take to calling you, Scotty.”

The Doctor scowled at him, “What does that make you? Bones? Or I suppose, with your tendency towards flirting with everything, we could call you, Kirk.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Doctor Tyler asked as another argument started to brew.

“Oh, don't start that again!” Rose exclaimed. “Show me how to fly us to Barcelona already, I need some sunshine.”

The three of them danced around the console as each Doctor showed Rose which switches to flip along the way. They all enjoyed the idea of this kind of team work continuing for centuries as Rose learned to fly the TARDIS more and more. They landed with a gentle thump and both Doctors offered Rose an arm with their hands in their pockets.

They exited the time machine to find themselves on a busy, dusty street with the sun shining brightly in the turquoise coloured sky. Rose noticed that they both wore longer coats that they allowed to flow behind them like super hero capes.

“You really do have a thing for long coats and capes, don't you? Is this your way of translating the Time Lord robes into your own style?” Rose teased them.

“I don't know what you're talking about, Rose Tyler,” Doctor Tyler replied with studied nonchalance as the other Doctor curiously examined the red lining of his jacket, contemplating its similarity to the cape he wore in his third life.

Rose smiled at their denial of her discovery and thought about how they really were like super heroes, so it didn't bother her one bit. She tightened her grip on each of their arms and looked around at the bustling city. The people mostly looked human although some of them had oddly coloured skin or hair. Everyone looked to be happily going about their day and Rose thought that maybe they wouldn't find too much trouble here after all.

That was of course the wrong thought to have, because that was when someone screamed. A young woman down the road was frantically shouting and looking around through the crowds in the street, “Jenna! Jenna where are you?! Someone find my daughter!”

Rose and the Doctors immediately ran to her side. Rose took the woman's hands to try and calm her as Doctor Tyler asked her, “How old is Jenna? What does she look like?”

The Doctor was visually scanning the area, looking for anything suspicious, but didn't see anything from where they were. They would need to split up and cover as much area as possible.

The mother's voice was shaking almost as much as her hands, “Jenna is seven years old. She has light brown hair and blue eyes and she was wearing a purple jumper with dark blue jeans. She was right beside me just a few minutes ago and when I turned around she was gone.” She started crying again and Rose put an arm around her shoulders in comfort.

“What's your name?” Doctor Tyler asked her.

“Rachel,” she choked out through her sobs.

“Alright, Rachel,” he said in his most soothing tone. “I'm Doctor Tyler, this is my wife, Rose and over there is Doctor... Smith,” he struggled to think of how to introduce the other Doctor, but didn't want to exclude him. “We are going to find your daughter. So you stay right here in case she comes back looking for you, while we go search. How does that sound?”

Rachel nodded and Rose let some of the other people nearby take over trying to calm her. One kindly older woman brought her a glass of water and waved Rose off with assurances that they would take good care of her.

Rose and the Doctors gathered together and the Doctor took the lead, “We need to split up and cover as much ground as possible if we're going to find her before she gets hurt.”

“Agreed,” said Doctor Tyler. “Be careful, both of you.”

“You too,” Rose replied as she kissed them both. She then ran off in the direction that Rachel had been coming from.

The Doctors took one last look at each other before they headed off in different directions as well.

The older Doctor wasn't used to feeling the bond with them yet. It was a little bit distracting to feel their excitement over an adventure and worry for Jenna, while he was trying to focus on looking for clues about what may have happened to her, but he would get used to it. It was a wonderful feeling, even so. He checked through the alleyways and back streets, but other than a few stray noseless dogs, he didn't find anything. Sighing in frustration, he started to make his way back towards the others.

Doctor Tyler was asking people in the area where Jenna had disappeared if they had seen anything or noticed any suspicious characters hanging about. Everyone he spoke with denied seeing anything, but he noticed one of the shop keepers watching him. As soon as he looked in her direction, she quickly turned away and went back inside her store. 

He entered the store with his hands casually in his pockets and looked at some of the merchandise on the shelves before approaching the shop keeper. She was tidying some packages on the shelf behind the counter when he spoke to her, “Hello. Lovely day outside. I noticed that you were out a moment ago and I was curious if you had been outside long? There was a situation and I'm trying to find out if anyone saw anything.”

“No,” she replied quickly. “I didn't see anything at all.” She continued to fuss with the packages on the shelf even though they were already in perfect alignment.

“I see,” he continued. “I don't suppose you have any security cameras set up outside, near the door or anything?” He walked casually around the store, peeking through doorways and behind shelving. Could she have something to do with the kidnapping or did she just see something and was afraid to come forward?

“No, I don't have any security cameras,” she said quietly. She stopped fussing and just stood stiffly without looking at him.

Doctor Tyler stood opposite her by the counter and tried to get her to look him in the eyes. “I'd really like to find this child and get her back to her mother. Are you sure you didn't see anything at all?”

With a sigh, she seemed to give up on hiding whatever information had been eating at her. “I don't know who they are. There's two men and they take children off the street about once a week when it's busy with tourists,” she told him. “They cover their faces and I don't know where they take them. I can't help you.”

“You have helped me,” he assured her. “Now I know that she was taken and not just wandered off. Also, I know that there are at least two adults responsible for doing it. I don't suppose you know what direction they usually head off with them?”

She seemed to relax a little when she realized that he wasn't blaming her for not coming forward earlier. “I've seen them head South down towards the industrial area. There's warehouses and stuff that way, but that's all I know.”

“Thank you,” he said as he shook her hand. “That is extremely helpful.”

Just as Doctor Tyler was heading out of the shop, he heard his wife send a thought towards him, ~'Doctor, I think--'~ He felt an abrupt wave of panic from her and suddenly he felt dizzy as she fell unconscious.

The Doctor wasn't far from Doctor Tyler when he felt Rose panic and then pass out. He immediately rushed to Doctor Tyler's side and grabbed his arm to help steady him against the wave of dizziness that was quickly passing.

“Typical,” the Doctor said. “If there's trouble about, Rose Tyler will be the one to fall into it face first. This is the Wire all over again.”

Doctor Tyler nodded, “She found something. She was about to tell me before she passed out, but got cut off. Which means she was either stunned by some sort of weapon or drugged. In either case, we now have two girls to rescue.”

“On the plus side, we can feel where Rose is and Jenna is likely in the same place. Of course, the quickest way to find out someone's plans is to get yourself captured. I suppose it doesn't help much if you're unconscious though,” the Doctor said as they both headed towards Rose. It was harder to feel her while she was unconscious, but she was alive and they could still feel where she was.

When they arrived in the industrial area outside of the city, they saw at least twenty large warehouses. They were all identical except for the large, yellow numbers painted on the front of each. They were all dark brick with metal roofing and large metal doors. The building that housed Rose's mental presence was almost at the end. They checked all the way around the building, but found no other entrances but the front door. There were some windows, but they were too high to reach and would likely just mean an equally long fall on the other side.

“Front door it is,” said Doctor Tyler.

“Hang on,” the Doctor said and grabbed his arm before he started off towards the door. “I think... It would be helpful if I could, I mean.” He sighed frustratedly and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was far more personal than he was used to being, but it was easier to ask himself than Rose. At least another version of himself would understand the loneliness he'd felt since the War. He gathered his courage before rephrasing, “I need to be able to communicate with you the way you two can. It would be safer if we could do that.” He clasped his hands together and stood stiffly in a way that reminded them both of his first incarnation.

Doctor Tyler was shocked by the request. This new version reminded him so much of his closed off forms from so long ago, but maybe it was just to hide the damage. Just like when he wore leather after the War, it was all for show. 

“Yeah,” Doctor Tyler smiled at him. “You're right, it would definitely be safer.” He reached for the Doctor's temples and he reciprocated. They quickly made the connections needed to deepen the bond they had with each other. When it was done, they both smiled, then walked determinedly towards the door.

The Doctor used his sonic to unlock the door and Doctor Tyler raised an eyebrow at the differences from his own. “Don't start,” said the Doctor. “The last one made it and I already heard from the one before him about compensating. And you know damn well at this point, that I have nothing to worry about in that respect.”

Doctor Tyler smirked at him and they both quietly entered the warehouse, unsure of exactly what they were walking into. The area was fairly wide open and there was a large caged area on the far end of the room. Inside the cage was a scared looking young girl that they assumed was Jenna. Outside the cage, but nearby was a hospital bed with an unconscious Rose Tyler handcuffed to it.

The tables and shelves in the area had various chemicals and medical equipment set up. Just past the laboratory-type area, there was a door to one room closed off from the open warehouse space. The door was open and there was light inside.

~'I'll get Rose, you get Jenna. You're less likely to frighten her,'~ the Doctor thought to Doctor Tyler.

~'Alright, once they're safe, then we'll figure out what they've been doing here,'~ he thought back in reply.

Doctor Tyler quickly and quietly sprinted towards the cage and signalled to Jenna that she needed to stay quiet. She nodded back at him and wiped the tears off of her cheeks with the back of her hand. Once he got her out of the cage, he quickly checked her over to see if she had been hurt at all. Finding no marks on her he looked over towards Rose and the Doctor to see how he was faring with her. He felt some confusion through their new link at what they were doing to her.

The Doctor quickly sonicked the handcuffs off of Rose as soon as he reached the bed where she lay unconscious. He noticed that they had put an IV into her arm and had been putting something into her bloodstream. He scanned it with his sonic but was confused by the mix of chemicals that he found. There was a sedative to keep her asleep through whatever they were doing, but there was also something like a virus in the mix. Were they trying to infect her with something? He scanned Rose and was relieved to find that her superior Time Lord biology was destroying whatever it was as quickly as they could pump it into her.

He nearly collapsed in relief when he realized that she would be fine. As long as they could get her out of here. It would be some time before she would wake up, so he would have to carry her. He removed the IV from her arm and mangled the equipment in the process, angrily. With one arm under her knees and the other behind her shoulders, he leaned her head against him and quickly started to follow Doctor Tyler back towards the door. The rush of relief that Doctor Tyler had felt from the other Doctor eased his worry over Rose's well being.

Halfway there, however, someone came out of the room and called after them, “Stop now or I will shoot all of you before you reach the door.”

The Doctor placed Rose gently on the floor before turning to face the man pointing a weapon at them. He kept Rose behind him to block any attacker. Doctor Tyler whispered to Jenna to please stay with Rose on the floor and he moved to stand next to the Doctor.

“If you think that I'm going to let you walk out of here with our best chance of survival, you've got another thing coming,” he said. The man was holding a sonic blaster and his clothes looked worn and ripped in some places. His skin had a greenish tinge to it, so they were quite sure that he wasn't human, but his colouration didn't narrow it down very much.

“And if you think that we are going to let you continue stealing children or anyone else, YOU'VE got another thing coming,” the Doctor replied with his usual authority.

“Who needs kids when we have her? The kids keep dying before we can finish the conversion process. She's strong enough to survive and then we can use her to repopulate our race,” he pointed his gun towards them more confidently.

“Oh, now you have really sealed your fate,” Doctor Tyler growled at him. 

“I don't think so. Into the cage, both of you. And take the kid too,” he followed them as they walked into the cage with their hands up and Jenna went with them after reluctantly leaving Rose's side. Once the door to the cage was locked, he went back to pick up Rose and return her to the hospital bed.

~'I scanned her. Her body is breaking down whatever it is they are trying to infect her with. Moron didn't even check her genetic compatibility with their process,'~ the Doctor thought to Doctor Tyler.

Doctor Tyler closed his eyes and gave a small sigh of relief, ~'Ok, that gives us a little time as long as they don't realize that and kill us all just for finding out about their plan. Who knows how many children they've already killed with this idea of theirs.'~

~'Well, we know they can't convert her, but the very idea that someone would want to take her for breeding means that I'm about ready to blow up the whole building. And I'm not sure I care if he's still inside,'~ the Doctor admitted.

Doctor Tyler looked him in the eyes, ~'Don't think that the thought hadn't crossed my mind, but she will be ok. You've already confirmed that, as long as we can get her out of here. So they are injecting some kind of engineered virus to try and convert people into their own race?'~

~'So it would seem. How many do you think there are? We've only seen the one,'~ the Doctor was constructing plans as he watched their abductor reattach the handcuffs to Rose and began to prepare another bag of their concoction to inject her with since he had destroyed any chance of reattaching the one from before when he took it out of her earlier.

~'A lady I spoke to in the city said there were always two when they took the children. Look! Quickly, he's put the gun down while he's prepping Rose. Sonic the lock and I'll go for him while you check the back room. We can blow the place sky high as soon as we get everyone out of here,'~ Doctor Tyler thought as they both headed towards the door of the cage.

Within seconds, the door was open and Doctor Tyler was wrestling the man to the ground. The Doctor grabbed the sonic blaster so their abductor couldn't reach it and ran to the door of the back room. There wasn't anyone inside, but there was enough technology there for him to establish that they were Vitari. He knew there were very few of them left after their world was ravaged by war, but this was not the solution. 

Back in the main room, Doctor Tyler had managed to restrain their abductor and asked him, “Where is your partner? I know there are at least two of you.”

“He went back to the ship for supplies,” he answered. He was shaking now that he wasn't in control of the situation. “Please don't hurt me, we're desperate.”

The Doctor came back into the main room and told Doctor Tyler, “No one else here and they are Vitari. Idiots! You just ended one war and you think this is the solution? You finally stopped killing each other, so why not go and start a war with someone else to replenish your ranks? Ugh! Soldiers!” He took the handcuffs off of Rose and tossed them to his counterpart.

Doctor Tyler sat their abductor in a rolling chair that was nearby and cuffed his hands behind his back, attaching him to the chair. Then both Doctors went to check on Rose's condition. Two sonic screwdrivers were buzzing as they assessed what the solution had done to her.

“You were right, she's completely broken down the virus,” Doctor Tyler said.

“And the sedative should clear soon as well,” the Doctor added. “It never would have worked with her, she isn't human. Your virus was designed to convert humans. Aren't you supposed to be a scientist? It didn't even occur to you to see if she was the right species to begin with? The Vitari aren't going to get anywhere if they send morons to do their genetic engineering. And while your race may be small in numbers, there's only the three of us in existence. You are not taking our wife anywhere.”

Their abductor's eyes grew large as he considered what these two men might do to him for what he had threatened to do with their wife.

“It also won't work on the children. No matter how many you try this on, their bodies can't handle changing species like that. I'm sorry, I know how low in numbers the Vitari people are from the war, but your only solution now is to cross breed. Join with other races and keep your culture alive that way. You can't turn them into Vitari, but you can share what you are with others,” Doctor Tyler told him as a possible alternative to extinction or further war mongering.

The Doctor was activating his sonic over the remaining bags of the virus solution to render them all useless for their intended purpose as he continued mumbling about morons and idiots. He then went into the back room to destroy all of the files that detailed their research.

Doctor Tyler stayed beside Rose as he waited for her to wake up from the sedative and watched their abductor where he sat angry and dejected. He turned his winning smile towards the young girl that was bravely keeping her cool. “Jenna, I want you to go near the door over there and when the other man comes back, you close the door behind him, ok? We'll take care of the rest, but we can't have him running off now, can we?”

Jenna nodded and ran over next to the door so that she would be behind it when it opened. She also studied the lock so that she would know how to lock it as soon as it was closed again.

Rose began to stir just as the Doctor was coming from the back room and both Doctors rushed to either side of the hospital bed where she was lying. “Doctor?” she mumbled.

“We're here, love,” Doctor Tyler said as he took her hand.

“You're safe now,” the Doctor assured her while stroking her hair off her face.

Rose tried to sit up and they both put an arm around her back to help her. She glared at the man who had abducted her and he looked away in frustration and anger. “I'm fine,” she said as they helped her to stand.

Doctor Tyler took the sonic blaster that they had confiscated and adjusted the settings so that it would only stun an adult Vitari. They weren't going to kill anyone; enough children had already died from this. The Vitari needed to learn that this tactic wouldn't work, not just anger them into further desperation. 

“We will contact the authorities. You and your partner will be arrested and your government contacted to negotiate what will be done with you. I suggest you tell your government to work on treaties and finding places that will welcome your people into their society. Taking over and changing people is not the way. Haven't the years of war on your home world taught you that already?” Doctor Tyler said to the man who was now their captive.

The Vitari in the chair slumped in defeat. When his partner returned to the warehouse with his arms full of boxes, Jenna quickly closed and locked the door behind him. She then ran into the shadows so she wouldn't be caught again. Doctor Tyler pointed the blaster that would now only stun, towards the man as he took in the situation with wide-eyed panic.

They quickly had both Vitari contained and the local authorities were called. Rose took Jenna's hand and with her husbands following them, walked her back to where her mother was nervously waiting. Jenna ran into her mother's arms and they both cried happy tears.

The two Doctors and Rose all smiled at the reunion and made their way back to the TARDIS. Once inside, they ushered Rose to the medbay, despite her protests, to give her a full examination and made sure there were no residual side effects to what had happened.

The examination had taken a decidedly less innocent turn once they established that she was fine and they had managed to silence her protests in favour of some decidedly more pleasant sounds.


	3. Make Yourselves At Home

Chapter Three – Make Yourselves At Home

The Doctor entered the console room and noticed his counterpart in the area below, tinkering with the TARDIS as he often did. The help would be appreciated with that, so he didn't begrudge him his exploration of the new layout. Climbing the stairs to the bookcases, he found Rose curled up in his burgundy leather chair, reading some trashy novel. He stared at her a moment in thought. Did he need more chairs here? Should he ask her to read somewhere else? This incarnation's default reaction was to shoo everyone out of his personal space, but this was Rose.

He continued to think on the subject while he looked at the bookshelves for what he needed. It was nice having them here, but it had been a very long time since anyone else travelled with him full time. Clara never really stayed for long. Not since before he had lost Amy and Rory had anyone shared the TARDIS with him. It had been about seven hundred years. Granted, for a good portion of that, he didn't have the TARDIS either. He had lived in a funny little house on Trenzalore, fighting Cybermen and Daleks and fixing toys like Father Christmas.

They were here to stay and the TARDIS was their home too. He asked the TARDIS to put two more chairs near his, expanding the space to make a shared sitting area. Immediately, two more chairs shimmered into place. One matching his already present leather chair and the other was a similarly coloured papasan chair with a few throw pillows, that he guessed the TARDIS thought Rose would prefer.

Rose smiled at him, “Thank you, Doctor. I presume that means that you want your chair back? I've warmed it up for you.” She winked at him then and he felt a wave of affection from her through their bond as he returned her smile.

“I would appreciate it. That one looks more your style anyway,” the Doctor replied.

Rose moved to curl up in the squishier chair and the Doctor sat in his usual spot. They both sat reading for a while, but the silence was awkward. It was worse than the first time she had been with him when he regenerated and they needed to find a new normal. He certainly wasn't going to go snuggle in the media room with her to watch movies like they used to do. Even giving into the hugging (and other activities) with her, would not make him enjoy that again. Which of his current interests could he share with her now? An idea struck him then, something he hadn't ever done with her, and he leapt to his feet, running down towards the console while sending the thought to the other Doctor. Rose wondered for a moment, what new idea had caught his attention, but knew they would let her know if she was needed.

Doctor Tyler walked up the stairs while wiping some TARDIS grease off his hands with a rag. He smiled at the Doctor and moved to help him with this treat for Rose. Doctor Tyler wondered for a moment why he had never done this with her and decided that it was probably because it would have seemed too romantic and he had been avoiding things like that while he was travelling with her.

The Doctor walked back up to where Rose was still reading once they had arrived at his intended destination. “There's something I want to show you, Rose. Come on,” he said as he took her by the hand and pulled her impatiently down towards the main area of the console room.

Arriving at the doors, both Doctors opened them wide and watched her face for the reaction they knew was coming. The look of awe and wonder that lit up her face (any face she wore) was the greatest thing in the universe. 

Outside the doors, Rose could see that they hadn't really landed. They were hanging in space looking out at the most gorgeous red and pink nebula she had ever seen. She knew this was the Rose Nebula; she had seen pictures of it in her studies while working on the Dimension Cannon and the stars disappearing. But to see it in person, hanging here in space was something completely different. She felt a hand on each of her shoulders as both of her husbands moved closer to look at the sight with her.

“I've always wanted to take you here, Rose. But as lovely as the nebula is, it isn't half as beautiful as you,” the Doctor said. He was excited to share the next part of his plan with her, “How would you like to fly? The TARDIS can expand her shielding and you can float in space. We'll hold onto you, so you won't float away.”

“Don't you want to fly with me?” she asked. “Couldn't we use a rope or something and all three of us float outside?”

“Of course we could,” answered Doctor Tyler.

Soon, there was a rope fastened to Rose's waist and one Doctor holding onto each hand as all three of them floated outside of the TARDIS doors in the light of the Rose Nebula. She was giggling and they smiled at her obvious enjoyment of their surprise for her. Rose pulled them both into a hug and Doctor Tyler nuzzled her ear while the Doctor kissed her forehead.

“I've been thinking,” she said as they drifted lazily together. “You two were arguing about names and I think we do need to figure out something. You are both the Doctor, that will never change, but in an emergency as well as in introductions, there needs to be a way to differentiate between you. Do you two have any preferences?”

“I've used a lot of different names in my life,” the Doctor said. “You know that I can't use my true name. Only you get to know that. Theta Sigma was my nickname in the Academy. John Smith I've used occasionally almost since I started travelling. I've used past companions' names from time to time, but I don't know what would be fair to both of us.”

Rose thought for a moment, “What about splitting up Theta Sigma? One of you is Theta and the other one Sigma? It's not ideal, I know, but nicknames like Scotty or Tigger would only really apply to your current regenerations. This should be something that would last.”

“All the more reason to make sure that we are all happy with whatever we decide to use,” Doctor Tyler added. “I've never been particularly fond of Theta Sigma, to be honest. And this would not be like when I took John Smith in the parallel world. As you said then, the people who mattered knew who I was and the name was just a cover. This, what we choose now, becomes what the people who matter will call me. This isn't the time for John Smith.”

“Theta Sigma, while I understand why you brought it up as a possibility, never meant anything to me, Rose. It was a designation to be used until I chose my name,” the Doctor said. “And you're right, that it shouldn't be something that only applies to this regeneration. The three of us will have a very long life together and names hold a lot of power. Rose Tyler has been a name that has had significant power over me for a long time now.” He smiled at her with a slight twinkle in his blue eyes. Rose could see some of the weight and darkness and doubt that had been hanging over him, lessening bit by bit.

“You are still both the Doctor. And while I have absolutely no trouble with sharing the name Tyler with both of you, it is true that it's not fair for only one of you to have it. You can both use it, if you want, and I think you should both keep Doctor. But you're right,” she said as she looked at Doctor Tyler, “this isn't the time for John or James and this isn't something to take lightly. So, as much as we need to figure this out, let's all think about it for a while. Agreed?”

They both nodded and held her tightly. When they finally released their embrace, Doctor Tyler pulled them back towards the TARDIS doors. The time for heavy discussions was over for now. They needed to have some fun.

“Rose, what would you say to an amusement park?” Doctor Tyler asked.

Rose giggled gleefully and clapped her hands, but the Doctor rolled his eyes and frowned. “An amusement park? Really? What are we children now?” the Doctor grumbled.

“Well...,” Doctor Tyler said as he looked towards the ceiling. “In one way, I'm actually only about a year old... in other ways, I'm over nine hundred. But, Rose, is still in her twenties. While I know that you've decided to take the old and grumpy bit this time around, remember what we used to say in our fourth life.”

The Doctor sighed, “There's no point in being grown up if you can't act childish once in a while. Alright, since it will please you two, we'll go. At least it won't be boring. The last time I tried to go to an amusement park it was taken over by Cybermen, but I'm sure we can find something more troublesome than that with you around, Rose. And I have had enough of Cybermen for a while now.”

The trio piloted the TARDIS smoothly to materialize just inside the gates of the most famous amusement park on Transinia 3. As they exited their magnificent time ship, Doctor Tyler explained to Rose where they had landed, “We are on Transinia 3, in the Tadpole Galaxy, approximately four hundred and twenty million light years from Earth. I've mentioned this planet to you once before.” He smirked at the memory, “I told you, they have great pie here.”

Rose laughed, “Is this also the place where they'll burn you at the stake if your hair is green then?”

Doctor Tyler laughed, “Yes, indeed. So, it's a good thing that you decided on just dying it blonde again for now.”

The Doctor's eyebrows furrowed (even more than usual) and he said, “You didn't regenerate with it this colour then? Why would you change it?”

Rose took both of their arms and started walking them down the sidewalk, “I was just used to being blonde. Maybe I'll be more accustomed to my natural colour changing as time goes on. For now, I like it this way. Don't you like it, Doctor?”

“Umm, yes!” he replied quickly, looking slightly panicked. ~'Was that the right answer?'~ he thought to the other Doctor.

~'Ha ha, I think so,'~ he responded.

She looked around thoughtfully and said, “Hang on, you've taken me here before.” The sky was a light purple colour and there were two small suns in the sky. The temperature was warm and pleasant. There were tall roller coasters, a ferris wheel, a carousel and several little gift shops and treat stands along the sidewalk. She definitely remembered being here before, even the weather was the same.

The Doctors looked at each other with matching confused expressions. “No, I don't think so,” said the Doctor.

“I'm quite sure that I've never brought you here before, love,” said Doctor Tyler.

“And I am positive that you have. I remember wanting to go on that roller coaster, right there,” she assured them as she pointed towards a large purple structure to their left. “It was right after we were in 1987,” she frowned at the memory of watching her father die. “You were trying to cheer me up, I think. Right before we met Jack. If you don't remember it, does that mean that we'll be meeting our past selves here? Why do I still remember it then? It's fuzzy though... something happened.” Her brows furrowed in thought as she tried to remember exactly what happened when they came here before.

Doctor Tyler sighed, these meetings with his past selves were getting to be ridiculous. Within the last month or so, they had met up with his second, third, sixth and eighth selves while trying to find his thirteenth and being sent to his fourteenth instead. “It probably does mean that we'll be meeting up with ourselves. This could be awkward to explain. Not only did you not know about regeneration yet, but there's the issue of you regenerating and there being two Doctors now.”

“Hang on, I think I remember... We were heading towards the roller coaster and then there was some kind of explosion and we were separated. Then, I woke up on the TARDIS and you said they had closed the park,” Rose told them.

“It might be best,” began the Doctor, “if only one of us spoke with the past Doctor. Less to explain regarding Rose's regeneration and us splitting into two. He'll feel you, Rose. Probably best then, if you talk with him and we'll go find the past you to rescue.”

“You really think that I can convince him to sit around chatting with me, while leaving the two of you to have all the fun?” Rose asked them incredulously.

Doctor Tyler rubbed the back of his neck and scrunched up his nose, “Well...”

The Doctor patted her on the shoulder as if it was all settled, “Absolutely. Have fun.”

At that, the Doctor pulled Doctor Tyler off with him to find a place where they could hide and observe what would happen to the past Rose and follow her. Doctor Tyler would be able to feel her presence due to the strength of their bond, even if she wasn't telepathic at this point in her timeline.

Rose shook her head as she watched them run off together. She looked around the park a bit as she waited for the past TARDIS to arrive. There seemed to be a few shady-looking characters looking around nervously near the base of the ferris wheel. She guessed that they were probably the cause of the explosion that she remembered and tried to keep an eye on them.

There were four of them standing around together watching everyone that passed and occasionally glancing behind them. She noticed that one of them seemed to have a slight deformity of his face and another was missing his left arm. The rest looked fairly normal as far as she could see. They all wore hoodies which is what caught her attention because it was too warm for anyone to want their hoods up, let alone a whole group of people.

She felt a wave of shock from the past Doctor as soon as he exited the TARDIS and sensed her presence. She remembered him being a bit distracted when they first got here before. She connected with him for a moment, ~'I'll speak with you soon. Pay attention to your companion.'~

~'Who the hell are you? All of the Time Lords were killed in the War!'~ he thought back to her forcefully.

She wasn't expecting him to be upset with her. Rose had hoped she could save this for when she was talking with him face to face, ~'Calm down, love. This is extremely complicated and difficult to explain, but I'm Rose. Now pay attention to what your Rose is saying and I'll be with you shortly.'~ 

~'But that's....'~ his brain seemed to be shorting out at the very thought of it.

~'Yes, I know, impossible,'~ Rose thought back to him and closed off the connection for now. 

She could see them from where she was standing, but noticed that the men she had seen earlier were no longer near the ferris wheel. Suddenly, she saw what was about to happen and ran towards the closest Doctor (which happened to be the one in leather) and tackled him to the ground behind a low stone wall and into the bushes.


	4. Who's Doing the Rescuing?

Chapter Four – Who's Doing the Rescuing?

 

The oldest Doctor and Doctor Tyler were waiting in the bushes as they watched the past Rose looking around and trying to get the attention of a very distracted looking leather clad Doctor.

“Ok,” the scottish Doctor began, “probably, when the explosion happens, there will be a rush of people trying to get away from it. In that mob, someone will grab Rose and take her away. So, we just have to keep a close eye on her and follow them.”

“That sounds reasonable,” said Doctor Tyler as he looked around.

“Focus! We can't afford to miss it,” the Doctor chastised.

The oldest Doctor and Doctor Tyler felt the older Rose's worry for all of them when suddenly both of them as well as the past Rose were all caught in the field of a stun grenade.

*****************

Rose and the Doctor that she had pushed into safety watched as everyone that had been knocked out by the grenade were dragged into a nearby building with two armed men preventing anyone from stopping them. Among the people taken away, were the past Rose and both future Doctors. They heard the gunmen shouting that they wanted to talk to the government to make their demands.

“Doctor,” Rose said in greeting as she tried to help him up off the ground. He pulled away from her and eyed the woman suspiciously. He definitely felt a connection with her.

“You aren't Rose Tyler. Why did you tell me that?” the Doctor in leather demanded with his arms folded across his chest.

“I am actually. We probably don't have a lot of time for explanations, both about me and the two that I'm with,” she sighed as she decided that it was best to get all the explanations out of the way rather than have him asking later why there were two Doctors. “Can I share a few memories with you? It would be faster.”

He looked at her warily for a moment, then nodded. At that, Rose touched her hand to his temple and pushed towards him her memories of the Game Station and his regeneration (including the sword fight where he lost his hand), their separation at Canary Wharf, their reunion with the aborted regeneration, the creation of the meta-crisis Doctor, being left in the parallel universe and their running back here after her regeneration. Just to be sure that he wouldn't treat Doctor Tyler badly, she also included the memory of the sharing of her regeneration energy to make him fully Time Lord again.

When they broke apart and opened their eyes, he gasped and stared at her wide-eyed. Once the Doctor could get his mouth to connect with his brain again, he managed to choke out, “Rose?”

“Do you trust me now, Doctor?” Rose asked. “We need to work together if we're going to rescue the past me and the other two Doctors.”

“Yes, of course,” he said, but still seemed to be trying to recover from the shock of the memories she had shared of his future with her.

Rose decided that she needed to take charge while he gathered his wits. “Before the explosion, I saw those four men hanging around near the ferris wheel. I lost sight of them when you arrived until just before they set off that stun grenade. We should probably see if there's another way into the building, since they're guarding the front doors.” She took his hand and pulled him with her towards the back of the structure where the hostages were taken.

“Right, another entrance,” he agreed as his brain started functioning properly again. “Good plan.”

They found a window, but he needed to boost her up on his shoulders to be able to see inside. She could see all of the hostages spread out on the floor with two armed men watching over them. Her past self was still out cold, but she could feel the other two Doctors starting to wake up. ~'I can see you,'~ she told Doctor Tyler. ~'We're outside the window at the back. We'll look for another way inside to help all the hostages escape.'~

~'Nice work, Lewis,'~ he thought back to her. ~'We'll try to get everyone ready to move as soon as it's clear.'~

********************

As the Doctor came back to awareness, he could feel Doctor Tyler nearby and future Rose not far away. He didn't have the deep connection with Rose that his counterpart did, so he couldn't feel the past Rose, but the other Doctor would. What if she felt the connection? That could be a problem. He could feel that Doctor Tyler was waking up now too and thought to him, ~'Can you block your connection with the past Rose? She won't understand what it is when she wakes up.'~

~'Nice to hear you too. I'm fine by the way, thanks for asking,'~ Doctor Tyler snarked. ~'I'm going to try to dampen it as much as I can. She isn't telepathic yet, so it won't be as strong and being out of her time stream will muffle it a bit too. If I shield it from her, she might not notice it. What do we tell her though? She doesn't know about regeneration yet, we can't say either of us is the Doctor.'~

~'You're right,'~ the Doctor grumbled. ~'I guess we'd better think on the name issue quickly now.'~

~'Rose and old big ears are outside. They are looking for another entrance so we can get the hostages out of here,'~ Doctor Tyler told him. ~'I've been thinking about the name thing, too. The Doctor was a promise and I think any new names we choose should be a promise as well.'~

The Doctor thought about that while he subtly scanned the unconscious Rose near them. He motioned for Doctor Tyler to move with him, closer to her. The guards didn't seem surprised that some of their captives were starting to wake up and just stood menacingly with their guns. The room looked like some kind of banquet hall. It was probably rented out for parties or special events in the park. Other than the front doors, there were washrooms and what looked like a door to a kitchen near the back. The floor was hardwood and the walls were painted a cream colour.

“She's alright,” the Doctor said quietly.

“Good,” Doctor Tyler replied. “It doesn't look like anyone was seriously injured. Let's just watch until we can see who's in charge before making any moves. Then we need to figure out what they want before we know who is the most dangerous in this situation.” They were both reluctant to leave Rose's side and for the moment, their captors weren't hurting anyone.

Rose began to stir before long. “Doctor?” she mumbled.

“Take it easy,” Doctor Tyler said as he helped her to sit up.

“Who are you? What happened?” she asked as she tried not to panic at the strange situation.

“We're friends of the Doctor,” the Scottish Doctor told her. “We were about to say hello earlier but everyone was knocked out by a stun grenade. Don't worry, we'll keep you safe.”

“Where's the Doctor?” Rose asked as she assessed whether or not to trust these strangers.

“He's outside, trying to find another entrance to the building. They are guarding the front doors. We are telepathic, like the Doctor, so we are able to communicate with him,” Doctor Tyler told her quietly so that the guards wouldn't overhear. It wasn't exactly true that they could talk to him, but he could talk to the other Rose and she could pass along a message.

“Ok, you still haven't told me who you are,” Rose said as she accepted their story for now.

“My name is Evander,” said the older Doctor.

“And I'm Alex,” answered the Doctor in pinstripes.

They looked at each other briefly and nodded in acknowledgement of their choices and the meanings that went with them. They would explain them to Rose later. These were the new promises to be added to being the Doctor.

“Nice to meet you,” she replied. “I'm Rose. How did you know I was a friend of the Doctor? You seemed to be helping me, specifically.”

“We saw you talking with him,” Evander said as he leaned against the wall and sat with his clasped hands perched on his knees in front of him. “As I said, we were about to approach the two of you to say hello.”

“No one seems to be seriously hurt,” Alex assured her. He sat in front of her and leaned to the side on one arm, facing away from the guards. “We need to find out which of them is in charge, then find out what it is they are after with all of this.”

********************

Rose hopped down from the Doctor's leather clad shoulders and smiled at him. “All of the hostages are being held in one area at gunpoint. Most of them are starting to wake up now. The other Doctors said they'll try to have everyone ready to move as soon as we can find a way to get them out of there.”

“Ok, we still don't know what they want,” he answered as he crossed his arms again.

“There are two of you in there that are in a much better position to babble them into submission than we are. Let's focus on getting those people to safety for now and let them worry about defusing the hostiles, alright?” Rose replied as she mirrored his stance. He may have intimidated her a bit before, but she knew what she was capable of now. With three Doctors and two Roses here, no one needed to take on the whole situation by themselves.

The Doctor was in awe of this new Rose. She was confident, intelligent and still had an unwavering compassion for people. And he was going to marry her! He was suddenly incredibly turned on by the idea and tried to tamp down on that feeling as he visually scanned the building for entrances.

Rose felt a sudden wave of lust coming from her first Doctor. She giggled quietly to herself at his reaction to her assertive behaviour and wondered if she might sneak in a snogging session with this Doctor before the day was out. She had always wanted to touch him when she was nineteen, but he was so off limits at the time.

They found a back door and Rose sonicked the lock. He raised an eyebrow at her and she smirked back. They found themselves in a dark kitchen and could see some light coming from under the door on the far side of the room. They quietly made their way to the doorway that led into the main room, but Rose was worried about being seen if they tried to look through.

“Hang on,” she whispered then thought to Doctor Tyler, ~'We're in the kitchen. I'm not sure where that is in relation to you, I'm afraid to be seen if we open the door.'~

~'It's a fair distance. I don't know if we can get people over there without creating a distraction. We've told this Rose that we are friends of the Doctor. I've told her my name is Alex and the other Doctor introduced himself as Evander, just so you know. If you meet yourself here, it might be best to use Sagacity again.'~

~'Alright, I'll talk with this Doctor about the possibility of a diversion so we can get those hostages out of there. When they were moving all of you inside here, they shouted something about wanting to talk to the government to make demands,'~ Rose replied.

~'I'm going to see if I can figure out what it is that they are after. We might be able to help or at least get a sense of how dangerous they are,'~ Doctor Alex Tyler informed her. She sent him a little mental kiss as she returned her focus to the Doctor beside her.

“He said the kitchen door is too far to get people here without some kind of distraction. Any ideas?” Rose asked the Doctor that was in the dark kitchen with her.

“Well, we could hack into the electrical and knock out the lights or set off the fire alarm to start the sprinklers, but I don't know if any of that would be enough to have them take their eyes off of the prisoners. In fact, something like that might make them more trigger happy and nervous,” he answered as he ran through scenarios in his head. “What would be the most helpful is something big outside those front doors. Enough to grab all of their attention, so that even the ones guarding the hostages don't want to be left out.”

“Could we build something? I don't know something to make a loud alarm noise or knock them all unconscious or something?” Rose asked him.

He thought for a moment about what he had in his pockets and looked around the kitchen to see what small appliances were at hand. “Maybe. We would need to have them all in the same room and it would knock all of the hostages out again. Using some of the parts in here combined with the sonic, I should be able to produce a sonic pulse that will affect their inner ear in such a way that they'll be out for at least a few minutes.”

“That should work, do you have a frequency modulator in those pockets of yours? I might be able to adjust it so that the fluctuation will put them out for longer,” Rose said as she checked her own pockets. All she found was psychic paper, her own sonic screwdriver and a banana. 

The Doctor was looking at her in awe and practically drooling. She felt a wave of overwhelming lust from him before she found herself pinned against the cabinets by a broad shouldered, leather clad, Doctor. His tongue was in her mouth and his hips were pressed up against hers in a way that made it completely obvious what he was thinking about. Rose wrapped her arms around his neck and groaned into his mouth.

Suddenly, she felt Doctor Tyler questioning her, ~'Umm, Rose my love, is there something I should be aware of? Your emotions seem to be straying towards an area that is a little unusual for our current situation.'~

Rose was feeling a little dizzy from the shock of being snogged senseless by her first Doctor as she thought back to her husband, ~'It isn't my fault that he finds my science talk as sexy as you do. He's snogging the living daylights out of me!'~

She eased him back off of her a bit and brought his attention back to the task at hand, “Doctor, I think we'd best get started on making that sonic amplifying device.”

He grinned at her sheepishly and nodded as he started pulling things from his pockets and dumping them on the countertop. “Sorry, but you're dead sexy when you start talking like that. It's hard enough to keep my hands off the past you right now, but to know that we're married in the future is enough to make my brain short out.” They started disassembling a blender and a microwave with their sonics as quietly as they could so that the people outside the kitchen wouldn't hear them.

Rose thought to Alex, ~'We're working on building something to make a sonic blast that will knock everyone unconscious. I'll let you know when it's ready.'~

~'Alright, I'm going to see if I can figure out what they want,'~ he replied.

***************

“We need to find out what they want,” Alex said to Evander. “I'm going to go chat up one of the guards. Why don't you see if any of the other captives have any idea who they are?”

“I can do that,” the younger Rose said as she got up from the floor and looked for someone who might be willing to talk with her.

Evander gave a small smile as he watched her. ~'That is more her area. I'll try to get close to the ones talking near the door. Superior hearing and all; they won't know I can listen in on them.'~

Alex nodded to him and headed towards the closest guard. He always was good at getting people to talk in this incarnation. “Hello,” he said with a smile, but only received a grunt in return.

“I couldn't help but notice that your group seems to be hoping for something. I don't suppose you'd tell me what it is? Just curious you know, what cause I might be dying for,” he said in a friendly tone while he shoved both hands deeply into his pockets. 

“We are part of the Outcasts. We only want what we've always wanted, acceptance and citizenship,” the man answered him.

“I see,” Alex said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “And why, exactly, are you... Outcasts?”

The guard rolled his eyes as he realized that Alex was unfamiliar with the political situation. “You're not from here,” he said accusingly. “You'll never understand.”

“Well... I'm trying to understand right now. I'd like to help if I can. That's what I do a lot of really, helping people,” Alex replied.

The man looked Alex over as he evaluated his sincerity. With a sigh, he decided to explain, “Before the people on Transinia 3 are born, a scan is performed and if there are any abnormalities found, the pregnancy is terminated. Our mothers decided to hide and we were born with the other Outcasts. They call themselves Flawless. Maybe on the outside, but they don't even consider us real people because they think we were never supposed to have been born. But we are people! We feel and think just like everyone else!” He shouted and started to grab the attention of several of the other captives.

Alex did his best to try and calm him again before his frustration turned to hostility. “Hey, it's alright. I believe you. I agree with you.” He put his hands out in a calming gesture. “We might be able to help and no one needs to get hurt. What do you say? Would you let us help you?”

“What could you do?” the guard asked derisively.

“We might have a way to get them to a negotiating table with you. And we don't need to have people at gunpoint to do it. Can we talk with the leader of your group?” Alex asked hopefully.

~'Hold off on any actions right now, I'm getting through to one of them at least,'~ Alex thought to both Evander and their wife.

The guard nodded and walked Alex over to the two men that were near the doors.

*************

Rose acknowledged the message from Alex and said to the Doctor in the kitchen with her, “They might be getting through to the guards out there. Let's finish this anyway just in case, but wait before we use it.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” he replied. “No need to make things worse if we can find a peaceful solution instead.”

“They told the past me that they are friends of yours since she doesn't know about regeneration yet,” Rose told him. He nodded and looked a little guilty about the fact that she had to go through seeing that without understanding what was happening. Rose continued before he could apologize, “They've been thinking about new names to differentiate between them. They're both still the Doctor, so it wasn't fair for either of them to lose that. I don't know if it's what they decided on permanently or not, but they introduced themselves to the other Rose as Evander and Alex.”

The Doctor stopped what he was doing for a moment, surprised at their choices. Looking at her thoughtfully, he said, “Those are probably their permanent choices. There are meanings behind both of those names. Things I try to be, that they are probably trying to be. Might be best to let them explain it though.”

Rose nodded and they kept working quietly for a while. The Doctor was the one that broke the silence, “Why do you love me, Rose? I'm no prize, certainly not worthy of someone like you.”

“Oh, Doctor,” she sighed as she looked at the broken man in front of her. “You are the best man I've ever met. You showed me a better way of living. You taught me that we can't just sit around and let things happen; that we can make a real difference and help people.”

He put down what he was working on and held his hand out to her. When she placed her hand in his, he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. She breathed in the scent of leather and TARDIS grease that she remembered so well. His next incarnation always seemed to smell of old books and tea. The newest Doctor was harder to place. He didn't hug her as much as the others had, so she hadn't placed his unique scent quite yet, but it was nice all the same, kind of like fresh spices or something. 

She felt safe and comfortable in the arms of her first Doctor and sighed happily. Just then, Alex broke her reverie and informed her, ~'They've agreed to let all the hostages go, if we can get the President here to negotiate. I don't suppose you two could go and pick him up in the TARDIS? He's not likely to be a willing passenger.'~

~'I'm sure we can be quite persuasive,'~ she replied with a mental smirk.

“They want us to go pick up the President for a little meeting with the men out there and they'll agree to let everyone go,” she told the Doctor who was still clinging to her tightly.

He sighed mightily and finally released her. “I suppose. Back to the TARDIS then, we've got some governmental buildings to infiltrate.”


	5. The Non-People

Chapter Five – The Non-People

Evander and the past Rose joined Alex as he began speaking to the man he was told was their leader.

“Hello,” Alex said as he smiled warmly at the man to put him at ease. “My name is Doctor Alex Tyler, this is Doctor Evander Tyler and our friend Rose. We'd really like to help you with your little problem, so we've asked a friend of ours to go pick up the President, willing or not, and bring him here for a little chat. How does that sound, eh?”

Rose looked at these two men who had befriended her thoughtfully. Both of them had the same last name as her? They said they were telepathic, so they probably weren't human, but their names sounded very human. Something wasn't sitting right about this situation. They acted so much like the Doctor. They were taking charge and trying to solve the problem the way she did with the Doctor. Her limited experiences in travelling the stars told her that this wasn't the way most people did things. Who were they?

“My name is Michael. What do you mean you asked a friend? I didn't see anyone using a communications device,” the leader answered.

“Well... You see, we're telepathic and our wife happens to be outside. I told her what was going on and she along with our friend, Doctor John Smith are going to help us all out here. The less guns and bloodshed the better, don't you think?” Alex explained.

Michael nodded warily at him. “Why would you help us? No one helps us. The Flawless don't even think Outcasts are real people.”

“Of course you're real,” Evander said assuredly. “You certainly aren't imaginary. You aren't robots or holograms. You are living, thinking beings and you will be given a fair chance along with all the future Outcasts.”

Rose was getting more confused by the minute. They both sounded so much like the Doctor that her head was spinning, but she wasn't about to interrupt their discussion while things seemed to be going so well.

~'This Rose is feeling suspicious of us, I can feel it,'~ Alex thought to Evander. ~'Maybe I shouldn't have introduced us as Tylers.'~

~'Well, the Doctor title adds authority to our position and you can't exactly use the title with just a first name. She won't remember this anyway. As long as she doesn't start questioning us in front of them and raise doubts to our sincerity to help, it should be fine. Rose wouldn't risk destabilizing a situation like this that way,'~ Evander assured him.

~'You're right and they should be here with the President soon,'~ Alex thought and relaxed a little.

“So,” Alex said to the Outcasts, “once our friend arrives with the President, you'll let all the hostages go and put the guns away, yes?”

“Agreed,” Michael said. “We will wait for your friend, for now.”

****************

The older Rose and the leather clad Doctor made their way back to his TARDIS after he managed to shove their cobbled together device into one of his bigger-on-the-inside pockets. As they entered, Rose felt a wave of love shower over her from the TARDIS and she smiled as she patted the console affectionately in return.

Rose immediately went to the monitor and looked up the location of the President's office. He would most likely be there and if they were going to bring him with them unwillingly, it would be best if they took him by surprise. She called up the coordinates and checked the sensors to see if any life signs were present in the office. Only one person appeared to be there, so she started entering the commands to take them there. She was still learning how to fly the TARDIS, so she couldn't do it by herself, but she had learned this part.

The Doctor watched over her shoulder in shock as he saw what she was doing. This woman was barely recognizable as the one that travelled with him now. She was confident and capable of academics that were completely beyond his Rose. He had seen her potential, but this was beyond even his imagining. She was magnificent, and somehow, she was his.

“Is that right?” Rose asked, as she showed her first inkling of insecurity.

“Perfect,” he answered. “Do you know the next bit?”

“Not quite yet,” she replied with a smile. “I usually just follow instructions from this point.”

The Doctor guided her in activating several controls while he jumped around to a few more and soon the TARDIS sounded its arrival at their destination. Taking a quick look at the monitor, they saw that they had landed perfectly, blocking the doors into the office so they wouldn't be disturbed.

The Doctor and Rose both walked out of the TARDIS and leaned their backs up against it with their arms crossed over their chests. Sitting behind the desk in front of them, was a tall, thin, balding man that looked at them rather nervously.

“Who are you? What are you doing my office?” he asked in the most demanding tone he could muster.

“He's the Doctor and I'm Sagacity,” Rose said in the haughty tone that she had perfected during the trial. “And you, Mr. President, have an appointment. We are here to make sure you keep it. Come along.” She opened the door to the TARDIS and gestured for him to go inside.

“I'm not going anywhere. You can't just abduct me like this!” the President insisted.

“Actually,” the Doctor interrupted, “you'll find that we can. And this is one meeting that you cannot miss. Lives are at stake and only you can save them.” The Doctor grabbed the man by the arm and walked him into the TARDIS. He still fought a little, but it was more to show his disapproval than actually expecting to escape the forceful grip of the Doctor.

Once they were inside and the doors were closed, the Doctor released him and went to check the coordinates that Rose had entered. He smiled at her, then adjusted them just slightly so that they would land in the room with the hostages and the other two Doctors. The President gaped at the size of the room he found himself in and grabbed the railing when the TARDIS jolted a bit on take-off.

The TARDIS materialized shortly after the time when the leather clad Doctor and future Rose had just left the building to go to the TARDIS. They knew that the more time that passed, the more dangerously impatient the hostiles would become. Just to be safe, the Doctor turned on the shields in case anyone decided to attack the President on sight.

The three people exited the TARDIS together and the older Rose felt waves of relief from her husbands. She smiled at both of them and gave them each a mental kiss. 

“Alright,” Evander said authoritatively. “The President is here, as you can see, so you can let all the hostages go and put the weapons away now. Because I'm sure that the President would be more than happy to have a nice little chat with the leader of the Outcasts regarding their basic rights and citizenship status, wouldn't you, sir?” Evander was looking the nervous President in the eye as he walked towards him.

“Y... y... yes, of course,” he stuttered as he realized exactly what was going on. “We just need to assemble a group of representatives...”

“No!” Michael interrupted. The other Outcasts were guiding the hostages out the doors while he was engaged in this discussion. “If you get your group together to discuss this, then you outnumber us and we just get rounded up and dismissed or arrested and nothing ever changes. This time, you're going to listen to us!”

“I have an idea, Michael,” Alex interjected. “Is there somewhere we could take the President to show him, safely, the conditions that the Outcasts live in? Your housing? School? Medical facilities? Maybe that would help to open his eyes to your situation a little better.”

Michael nodded and smiled at the suggestion as the other Outcasts gathered behind him. “That sounds perfect, but how will we get there? The police have gathered outside, they'll never let us through.”

“Good thing we've got transport then,” said the Doctor that was leaning against the TARDIS with his arms crossed over his chest. He pointed his sonic through the open doors and activated it to let down the shields so that everyone could get inside. 

As everyone moved towards the ship, Alex quickly scooped his wife into a twirling hug and kissed her neck. As soon as he put her down, Evander put his hands on her hips and leaned his forehead against hers. Threading her arms into theirs, they all entered the TARDIS with the past Doctor and Rose, all of the Outcasts and the President of Transinia 3.

So as not to arouse further suspicion from the younger Rose, only the leather clad Doctor piloted the TARDIS on this trip and the trio from the future leaned against the railing with their arms wrapped around each other. They arrived in the middle of an isolated village. It was obvious that living conditions were poor and supplies extremely limited. The people living there were very friendly to the newcomers, especially when they realized that one of them was the President. Michael led the man on a tour of the village, knowing the difference it would make to look these oppressed people in the eye as opposed to seeing them as statistics on paper.

By the end of the tour, the obviously moved President promised that there would be changes made and said that he would stay there until the support group arrived. He was making phone calls for supplies and medical personnel as Michael thanked all of the time travellers before they left.

“Well,” Alex began as they all reentered the TARDIS. “If you don't mind, we could use a lift back to our ship now.”

“Who are you though?” the past Rose asked. “Because both of you act so much like the Doctor. He said there weren't any of his people left, so who are you?”

Evander and Alex both beamed at her and the older Rose laughed.

“Always so observant,” Alex said. “Sagacity indeed.”

“This is going to be really, incredibly unbelievable, but you're going to end up forgetting this for now anyway,” Rose said to her past self. “I'm you and they are both the Doctor.”

“What are you talking about? You're not me!” the past Rose said incredulously.

“It really is too much to explain, but you'll get there,” Rose assured her as the past Doctor approached the younger Rose from behind and placed his hands on her temples. She collapsed back into his arms, asleep and he adjusted her memories so that anything after the explosion was suppressed for now.

While the past Doctor carried the past Rose to her room, the new Stuff of Legends flew the past TARDIS to park next to theirs. Before they left, the leather clad Doctor was back in the console room to say goodbye.

“You two had better take good care of her,” he scolded.

“Ah well, it'll take two of us to keep Ms. Jeopardy Friendly out of trouble,” Evander teased.

“Excuse me,” Rose retorted, “who saved who today?”

“Well....” Alex said while sheepishly rubbing his neck. “I think it's safe to say that we all take care of each other, eh?”

“You'll do,” Rose said as she ruffled Alex's hair and poked Evander in the chest. Rose sashayed over to the past Doctor, swinging her hips a little more than necessary, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She gave him a thorough snog and Alex rolled his eyes.

“Oh! It's like velvet and curls all over again!” Alex complained.

Evander pursed his lips and frowned thoughtfully as he watched them. His memories of this day were just starting to clear in his mind and he vaguely remembered having kissed her first back in the dark kitchen. He was still getting used to these kinds of activities in this body. It had come to him relatively easily in the past, he just didn't feel physically affectionate this time around. He had actively tried to make himself into a man that not only wouldn't attract that kind of attention, but wouldn't crave it either. Then, of course, the love of all of his lives had to come crashing back into his life. He hadn't craved those kinds of things, but to feel the waves of pleasure that rolled through his bond with Rose whenever they were intimate, he would do anything she liked.

When Rose finally released the past Doctor, she winked at him flirtatiously and took her husbands by the arms and walked with them out of this TARDIS and into their own.


	6. Making Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter isn't long, but it is definitely NSFW

Chapter Six – Making Promises

That night, as the TARDIS drifted in the time vortex, the Doctors and Rose sat together in the garden room. The projected sky showed a clear, starry night as they sat on the grass near the pond.

“Tell me about the names you chose,” Rose whispered to them.

Evander began the explanations, “When I first regenerated into this form, I wasn't sure who I was anymore. I didn't know if I was a good man. In all the wanderings I've done throughout the centuries, it sometimes feels like I leave a wake of destruction, even if my intentions are quite the opposite.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “I once told Clara, that the name I chose, was a promise. 'The Doctor' is a promise that I made to myself and everyone else to try to make things better everywhere I went. And so, in choosing to add this new name, I am making another promise. Evander comes from ancient Greek and it means “good man.” I don't think that I will ever completely be a good man, but I definitely try to be. I promise that not only will I be someone who makes things better, but I will also try with both my hearts to be a good man. And by adding Tyler, I promise that my hearts will always belong to you, Rose Tyler.”

Rose kissed him then and sent him her feelings of intense love and devotion. They all sat quietly for a few moments to let the intensity of those promises sink in before Alex began the justification of his own choice.

“I'm sure you remember quite well, Rose, the day that I first woke up with this face. The first real action that I took with the Sycorax was to prove to them that the Earth was defended and that I wouldn't allow them to bully the human race into submission. The name Alexander means “defender of man” and that is what I have become through my travels. I promise to be the Doctor, who makes things better, I promise to be the defender of those who are in need and I promise to be only yours, Rose Tyler,” Alex finished speaking with tears in his eyes. He wrapped his arms around Rose and kissed the top of her head, sweetly.

From his pocket, Alex pulled out two pendants. What used to be one square, orange stone with veins of gold running through it, was now made into two tall rectangular stones. The cut was clean and polished and he had attached new gold chains to each of them. He also had a gold band that matched the one he wore, so that all of the symbols they had chosen would be shared equally between the three of them.

“If you'd rather wait for a public ceremony, for the ring at least, we can,” Alex said. “I just thought that it was more important for us than anyone else.”

Rose took all three pieces from Alex and looked into Evander's eyes to see what he wanted to do. If it was important to him to have a real wedding, she would do it in a heartsbeat.

“All I need is you, Rose,” was his simple reply to her questioning eyes.

At that, she placed the pendant over his head and said the Gallifreyan words of devotion that had been the first words in that language that she had ever spoken. She placed the second pendant over Alex's head and repeated the phrase. She kissed Alex on the lips and turned back to Evander. Taking his left hand, she slid the gold band on his finger and kissed him as well.

Holding her hands tightly in his, Evander asked her, ~'Rose, can I have a deeper connection with you, please? I never want to live a day without you for the rest of my lives.'~

~'Are you sure, Doctor? You have so many more regenerations than we do, you could live a lot longer than us,'~ Rose thought to him.

~'I've never been more sure of anything, darling,'~ Evander said softly in her mind. With that, he closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. She felt him making a deeper connection with her and followed his lead as their bond flared brightly. Alex saw what they were doing and smiled in delight as he felt all of their timelines wrap together more tightly.

Suddenly, Rose felt both of them filling her mind with love, devotion and desire. She closed her eyes as their dizzying passion flowed through her and felt them lowering her to lay in the soft grass. They both kissed her face as well as the rest of her skin as they revealed it. Soon, she was wearing nothing but her bonding pendant and wedding rings, and they were quickly matching her state of undress.

Both Doctors were kissing their way down her body in perfect parallel. Somehow, through their link with each other, they seemed to be copying their actions exactly. When they made it down to her hips, Evander seemed less sure of himself. ~'Trust me,'~ Alex thought to him, ~'You've not tasted heaven, until you've tasted Rose Tyler.'~

With one leg over each of their shoulders, they took turns licking and sucking at her centre, and Rose was writhing on the grass in pure ecstasy. In minutes she was screaming, “Doctor!!” And both of them watched her breathing slow with smug smiles on their faces.

As soon as Rose got hold of her senses again, she pulled them both towards her to kiss them deeply. Hands roamed and kneaded and pinched, until she had a hand on each of their hard lengths. She had them both lay side by side on the grass and she straddled between them with her legs over one of each of theirs. She stroked them firmly, then brought her face down to take Evander into her mouth. She swirled her tongue around him playfully and he groaned loudly at the sensation. She remembered Alex telling her the first time she did this that he had never experienced it before and thought that despite the time apart, he likely still had never had anyone do this for him.

She released him from her mouth, but continued to stroke him as she moved to give Alex a similar treatment. Alex dug his fingers into her hair, the way he knew she liked when she did this. He loved feeling her tongue against him almost as much as she loved his tongue on her. They were both surprised when Evander moved to kneel behind Rose while she continued her ministrations on Alex.

When he entered her, she moaned happily which sent tingling vibrations through Alex's body and he fell back into the grass in bliss. Finding comfortable angles for all of them, they quickly found their rhythm. Before long, Rose was reduced to licking Alex as she needed to breathe through her mouth to get enough oxygen. Alex didn't mind though, since her hands never stopped moving and he could feel waves of elation from both Rose and Evander to add to the sensations. Soon they all tumbled over the precipice into bliss and landed in a heap with Alex beneath both of them and they all began to laugh.

There was an overwhelming joy between them at the knowledge of being bound together for the rest of their lives. A joy that none of them had ever dreamed of before and swore they would never let go of again.


	7. Lost

Chapter Seven – Lost

The next day, all three time travellers could feel an overpowering euphoria flowing through them. The Doctors could barely believe that anything so wonderful could ever happen to them. They felt completely undeserving of Rose and everything she was giving.

“What do you think, darling?” Evander asked while flicking switches on the console. “Shall we set the controls to random today?”

Rose grinned at him. It was delightful to see the change that had come over him just from having them here. “Feeling lucky today, are you?” Rose teased as she descended the stairs into the room.

Both Doctors smirked in response and Alex answered, “We're both feeling like the luckiest bastards in the universe today.”

“Well then, random it is!” Rose said as she twirled the randomizer with a flourish.

The trio performed their usual dance around the console room. Rose was quickly learning how to pilot the TARDIS and every trip had her participating a little more confidently. They landed with the usual thump and smiled at each other excitedly. With a Doctor on each arm, Rose led them out on a new adventure.

Outside the doors of the TARDIS, they were greeted with an unfamiliar landscape. The sky was deep blue, but they couldn't see any moon or stars. While it was dark, it didn't give the impression of being night. The ground was paved with rough, grey stones and in front of them was a tall stone wall that appeared to go on forever in both directions with no turns or openings. Thinking this was odd, they all turned to look behind the TARDIS and found that there was another wall that seemed to run parallel to the other with approximately four metres between them.

“This is very strange,” Alex said as he looked around confusedly. “Have you seen anything like this place before?” he asked Evander.

“No, I haven't,” he said thoughtfully. Suddenly they both doubled over in pain and cried out. There was a horrible burning in their minds and it was several difficult minutes before they finally managed to open their eyes to their worst nightmare; Rose was gone. They both reached out to her mentally, despite the pain they still felt, but found that they seemed to be in some sort of fog. 

“Telepathic dampening field?” Evander speculated.

“It must be,” Alex answered with his eyes still closed. He seemed to be forcefully trying to follow his connection to Rose. “She's alive, but she's scared and I think being cut off like this is hurting her too.”

“I'm only getting vague feelings from her and even that's faint,” Evander grumbled angrily. ~'Can you still hear me?'~ he thought towards Alex, but got no reply. “I don't think we can even communicate with each other.”

Alex seemed to focus again and sighed as he opened his eyes once more. “You're right.” Alex rubbed his hand over his face as he studied the wall in front of them again, looking for any indications of where they could get through. “She's that way, for sure,” he said as he pointed straight towards the wall in front of them. “But how do we get to her? Only feeling strong emotions, we can't even send her reassurance. This shouldn't be possible with the kind of bond we share! Nothing should be able to block it.” He was pacing angrily and Evander reached out to grab his arm.

“Enough of that, pretty boy!” the older Doctor admonished as he pulled him to a stop. “Rose needs us and worrying about what's possible or not, isn't going to help. Now, let's find a way through this bloody wall.”

As he said it, a large set of wooden doors appeared in the wall in front of them and opened with a loud creak. The Doctors looked at each other with raised eyebrows before turning their attention to the newly revealed area. Through the doors, they saw a garden area and cautiously walked through the doors together. 

The garden was surrounded by walls just like the one they had passed through and there were stone pathways running through the garden beds. While the shapes of the plants seemed to vary quite wildly, the colours were all exactly the same shades of grey and dark blue. The plants seemed as though they were thriving except that the whole colour scheme looked as if it were dull and filtered, just like their telepathy. There were no animals or insects and it was deathly quiet.

***************

Rose had been looking at the tall stone walls and contemplating their importance when she suddenly felt herself transported. She immediately crumbled to the ground as a wave of nausea came over her and a burning pain flooded her mind. Rose curled up and clutched her head as she screamed. She expected her husbands to immediately come to her and somehow stop the pain, but they didn't. When she could finally bring herself to open her eyes, she was alone in a dark, wood panelled room. She was cushioned by soft, red carpet and tried desperately to reach for her Doctors telepathically.

She felt as though her link to them had been wrapped in cotton wool. She knew they were out there, somewhere, but couldn't push through to reach them. She felt their worry for her and frustration.

“Ok,” she sighed to herself. “Let's see what I can do from here, then.” Rose was not a damsel in distress that would wait around to be rescued. As she searched the room, she came to what looked like some sort of game board. There were strange symbols painted onto the smooth wooden surface. She was surprised that the TARDIS didn't translate the symbols, but thought that perhaps they weren't language at all. Then she remembered that her connection to her husbands had been almost completely cut off and maybe the translation matrix couldn't reach her mind either.

Rose touched the surface of the board and it immediately began to change shape as little square pieces of the board flicked into vertical positions and she was suddenly staring at a little wooden maze. It was similar to a marble game she had as a child where you had to tip the board to and fro to guide the marble through the labyrinth without it falling into the holes of the board. But there didn't appear to be any holes or marbles. There were, however, two game pieces that suddenly appeared at what she guessed was the start.

Looking over the rest of the board, there was a red cube, which she assumed was the goal for the game pieces. Rose reached for the brown game piece and tried to move it on the board, but found that she couldn't budge it at all. Unable to lift or even slide that piece, she tried grabbing the black piece and discovered that it was similarly stuck. She stared at the game board and wondered what she was supposed to do with it if she couldn't move the pieces around.

Pouting at the board in thought, she suddenly saw the two game pieces slide themselves into the maze and the little wooden squares that made up the labyrinth walls shifted into new positions around them. Rose was suddenly filled with dread, were those the Doctors? Was this game board to taunt her about their impossible search for her through an ever changing labyrinth? Who was responsible for this? Someone had started this game, put her husbands in danger and was making her watch.

*********************

The Doctors looked around the garden area for some villain to show himself and gloat over the hopelessness of their situation or lay out the rules for their inevitable torture, but there was no one to be found. The silence was overwhelming. There was no breeze, no animals, no foot steps, not even a grumbling monster to threaten them. The air didn't even smell like a garden. It smelled stale and dusty, as if the blossoming plants that they were seeing had dried out and died long ago.

They examined the area for any clues to what was expected of them to get Rose back, but found no written instructions or puzzles to solve. Seeing no other options, they moved towards the opening in the wall furthest from the entrance and found that they were faced with a maze of tall stone hallways standing between them and their wife.

“Up and over?” Evander asked as Alex wove his fingers together and braced himself to boost the other Doctor up. He put one hand on the wall and stepped into Alex's hands to reach up for the top of the wall, but hit an energy field and was knocked down by the shock to painfully land on his back. When Alex reached down to give him a hand up to his feet, they watched as the walls around them shifted and the passageway back to where they came in, disappeared.

“So,” Alex began as he started pacing the small area. “We are telepathically cut off from our wife as we try to make our way through a labyrinth presumably to find her, there is a powerful force field blocking our escape, and the walls of the aforementioned labyrinth can change without warning. Am I missing anything?”

“I would say that's a fairly accurate assessment of the situation,” Evander replied as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest in a pose very reminiscent of the leather clad Doctor they had met recently. “Although, I might add that we don't know who is behind all this.”

They felt Rose's mood shifting from her usual confidence in solving a problem to almost overwhelming worry and fear. The Doctors looked at each other with the Oncoming Storm swirling in both of their gazes.

“If we tried to link our minds together, do you think we might be able to reach her?” Alex asked.

“It's worth a try,” Evander replied and they both reached for each other's temples.

The contact allowed their bond to each other to reestablish despite the telepathic dampening field and, as one, they reached towards Rose's mind. ~'Rose, love/darling! Can you hear me?'~ the dual voices of their minds called out.


	8. Wandering

Chapter Eight – Wandering

Rose could feel her Doctors trying to reach her mind. It was fuzzy and quiet, but she thought she could hear their voices overlapping each other in a faint shout, ~'Rose, love/darling! Can you hear me?'~

She focused as hard as she could to send them the strongest thought she could manage. Along with a wave of intense love, she thought to them, ~'Just barely! I'm alright, but trapped!'~

~'We're coming to get you, Rose! We'll find a way!'~ came the dual voice of her Doctors. 

She wasn't sure if they had heard her or not. This communication was obviously difficult if they had to work together to get through to her. She was reassured to hear the words of her first Doctor in their message. The same words he said when he rescued her from the Daleks during the events of the game station. Of course, she wouldn't sit around and wait for them. Waiting for him didn't get her back after he sent her away from the game station and it didn't get her across the void when the darkness was spreading through the multiverse. Rose was a woman of action.

Studying the game board in front of her, Rose was determined to find a way of helping them get to her. She presumed that she was being held in the place marked by the red cube or that was where the controls for this little game were located. In either case, it seemed to be their goal. She had already learned that she couldn't move the Doctors' pieces. Could she move the red cube? She grasped it firmly and tried to lift or slide it, but found it securely attached to the board. Rose sighed as she continued to consider her options.

She watched her Doctors make their way through the maze slowly. The walls hadn't shifted again, but she wondered idly if she could move the walls. Choosing a spot that was far away from her Doctors (just in case), Rose grasped one of the little wooden squares that made up the walls and tried to move it. She smiled when it lifted up easily and thought about just removing a bunch of the walls to clear a path for her husbands. Panic, however, quickly set in when not only did the wall reappear, but another game piece as well. It was orange, shorter than the Doctors' pieces, but much wider than them. The piece also seemed to be moving significantly faster than her Doctors and directly towards them.

“Shit!” Rose exclaimed and tossed the little wooden square aside. She sent her husbands feelings of intense worry as a warning that something was on the way. She couldn't get a direct message to them and she wouldn't even know what to tell them was coming anyway, but felt that this was as much warning as she could give.

**************************

The Doctors listened carefully for a response to their mental shout to Rose. They received a faint wave of love and the sense that she was alright, but her mental voice wasn't even a whisper in return. They hadn't really been working with her on strengthening her telepathic abilities. Well, they had been making plenty of use of them, during various.... activities. But they hadn't been formally training her to strengthen her sending and receiving or her shields. They realized now that they had been rather careless in that regard. She could be vulnerable to a psychic attack and they had just assumed that they would always be close by to protect her.

~'We're coming to get you, Rose! We'll find a way!'~ they shouted to her as strongly as they could.

They disconnected from each other physically and found that the dampening field reestablished its fog over their connection again almost immediately. The Doctors stuck close together as they made their way through the maze, just in case the walls decided to move again and separated them from each other. They hadn't felt a need to rush and cover ground more quickly yet, so they felt it would be safer if they didn't part company at this point.

So far, they tried to make their way in the general direction of where they felt Rose was located. They continued scanning the walls and floors for any signs of writing or clues as to who might be behind this or what they wanted. After several minutes of working their way towards their wife, the Doctors felt a tremor in the ground and heard a low rumbling sound. They looked at each other confusedly for a moment and their eyes both widened when they heard a piercing roar.

“That sounds, definitely not good,” Alex said nervously.

“I think that is probably a rather large understatement,” Evander replied and they both started to move more quickly towards Rose while listening for the approach of whatever creature had been released.

They felt Rose's worry and Evander deduced that she must be aware of what was happening to them, somehow. “She knows what's happening. Can Rose see us?” he wondered aloud.

“You're right! Her mood shifts have corresponded with things happening to us. The question is, can that help us somehow?” Alex replied.

******************************

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Rose cursed her own stupidity. “Ok, removing walls is not an option. I have to be able to do something! I wonder if I can slide them without making it worse again?”

Rose grabbed one of the little squares and turned it so that the orange piece would be blocked into a corner and desperately hoped that this would work. The wall that she moved did stay in place, but it triggered the rest of the walls to change position as well and she grumbled as it seemed to close off her Doctors' area just as thoroughly. She decided that she needed to be extremely careful in the changes that she made to the game board. The problem was that she didn't know how the changes she made would affect the rest of the walls when they moved.

Rose eventually decided that the best option was to gradually herd them closer to the red cube so that there would be less walls between them and their destination that needed moving rather than trying to plot a course through only to have it foiled by an unexpected change along the way. She also needed to keep an eye on the orange piece to try and keep it away from them. She had felt a wave of panic from them shortly after the orange piece had appeared and they had been moving more quickly through the labyrinth until she had shifted the walls again.

Trying to muster as much confidence as she could, Rose took hold of one of the walls near her Doctors and turned it so that they could move closer to the red cube. She directed feelings of confidence and encouragement towards them as strongly as she could and her hearts leapt with joy when the two pieces moved in the direction she wanted. This could work!

Rose happily grabbed another section of the walls to move, but this time, when the other walls moved, a hole opened in the board and one of the Doctor pieces fell through it. Rose's hearts almost stopped as she felt Alex's terror and pain from falling. But the fact that she could still feel him, meant that he was alive, but probably injured.

Not forgetting that she still had to help Evander get to her and avoid the orange thing, Rose looked for a way to access the level below to find out what was happening to him and if she could help. Rose tried to lift the top of the game board and discovered that the whole box unfolded with X-shaped supports between the layers. There were four levels to this game board, she discovered and her hearts suddenly sank. On the bottom level, in the corner below where the red cube sat at the top, there was a picture of a red rose. 

All three of the upper levels had a red cube, but it was in a different corner on each one. How could she direct them towards these things if it meant moving away from her? She still presumed that these were their goals. Either the way to the next level or a short cut to the end of the game, if they could make it there. Adding to the difficulty of directing them through was the fact that they were now separated from each other.

Rose suddenly felt like her task of helping them was impossible and tears started to leak from the corners of her eyes. She knew they would feel her despair, but couldn't hold back the feeling of hopelessness that threatened to overcome her completely.

*****************************

As the Doctors made their way towards Rose, they found that the walls were moving again and stopped running until the changes ceased. They felt their wife's emotions shift from panic to relief and looked at each other curiously.

“She is definitely aware of what's happening,” Evander insisted.

“Rose will find a way to use that and help us get through this,” Alex replied with a nod.

The walls shifted again and opened directly in front of them in the direction they had been trying to go. Their vague impressions from Rose seemed confident, so they tentatively moved in the direction that had just opened to them. They abruptly felt a wave of giddy joy from her and smiled. 

“She's helping somehow,” Alex said and Evander nodded in agreement.

They kept moving towards her and the walls shifted again to clear a path for them, but suddenly, the ground beneath Alex's feet shifted and he was sliding along the stones that were now closer to vertical than horizontal. He landed with a painful crunching sound in his shoulder and winced as he sat up. Looking up at the inky blackness above him, he couldn't see where he had fallen from, but he could feel Evander, and sensed his shock turn to determination. Alex knew what that meant and decided it was time to assess the damage.

Alex quickly pulled out his sonic screwdriver with his good hand and scanned his shoulder. Dislocated, damn. He would heal quickly, of course, but he needed to get it back in place first and that was difficult to do by himself. Bracing his back against the wall for support, he grasped his upper arm with the opposite hand and quickly wrenched it back into its proper place. Alex yelled loudly as he did this and hoped that it hadn't attracted any unwanted attention, but he certainly couldn't leave it the way it was. Panting a little from the residual pain, he reached deeply into his bigger-on-the-inside pockets and found a string of handkerchiefs all tied together. Using several of these, he fashioned a sling for his arm and immobilized the damaged shoulder.

Finally taking the time to examine his new surroundings, Alex found himself in a similar set of maze-like hallways. However, the walls here were wood panelled instead of stone and there were lamps spaced periodically along them. The ceiling looked like a black abyss where he had fallen from and the floor was hardwood. Had the floor been stone, like where he had just been, his shoulder could have been worse than just dislocated.

Trying to decide which direction to go, Alex suddenly felt a wave of anguish and despair from Rose that nearly brought him to his knees. She must have discovered something about their dilemma. He knew she could still feel him, so she couldn't think he had died or anything. Maybe she blamed herself for his fall? They had figured out that she was trying to help them somehow, perhaps she felt that what she had done might have triggered it.

Trying to focus his thoughts towards her as strongly as he could on his own, Alex sent feelings of love, support and his desire to hug her as tightly as he could at that moment. He was unsure how much of those sentiments would make it through to her with the telepathic dampening field in place, but he had to try. He knew from the intensity of her emotions that Rose was crying. She was giving up and he couldn't let that happen.

Alex pulled out his sonic again and tried to scan the area. He checked to see if he could read the area well enough to get a layout of the labyrinth, but it seemed that he could only get a few halls over before the readings died off. Next, he scanned for life signs. He could still get a reading from Evander above him, as well as the creature that they had heard chasing them. Oooh, it was a Hoix. That might prove difficult to deal with. 

Alex was beyond thrilled when he got one more life sign reading. It was Rose! Of course, he could feel, generally where she was, but this was far more specific and gave him more information about her well being. He could tell now, from the distance readings that she was in the direction that they had been heading, but looked to be at least one or two more floors below him. Why hadn't they felt that she was below them before? That was odd, of course the whole place was odd. Other than the sounds of the Hoix earlier, the place was absolutely silent. It was almost as if sound couldn't exist here, except that it did; he and Evander could hear each other as well as the Hoix, but no other sound at all. The impression was very disconcerting.

Checking Rose's readings again, he could see that she wasn't injured at all, just upset. He thought hard for a moment before a brilliant idea came to him and he got to work on his plan.

***********************

Doctor Evander Tyler stared in shock at the place on the ground where Alex had just disappeared. It seemed as though the stones just opened up and he fell through before they closed behind him again. His worry only increased when he could feel that Alex was in pain afterward. It would take a fair amount of damage for one of them to feel it so strongly, but he was alive and while he was hurt, he didn't seem to be afraid wherever he was now.

Squaring his shoulders, the Doctor prepared himself to rescue both of them now. After all, that was what he always did. It was time to save the day again. Checking around the corners for whatever creature was hunting him as he moved, Evander made his way towards where he felt Rose again.

He didn't get far, however, before the breath was nearly knocked out of him by the intense wave of despair he felt from his Rose. He immediately leaned his back against the nearest wall and tried to breathe normally. She was crying, he knew and couldn't help but wonder if she would have felt this bad if it had been him that had fallen instead of Alex. He quickly tried to squash that thought. Rose had made certain at every turn, that he felt equal to Alex. While he may have been jealous of the life he had given up to the other Doctor for a thousand years, it had only been about one year for them and they had been looking for him during most of it. Of course Rose would have been just as worried about him. There was something else that was upsetting her, he just couldn't think of what it might be.

Evander could just barely feel Alex trying to calm her and did his best to add his love for her to Alex's telepathic push. He wasn't the best at being reassuring in this incarnation, but he definitely loved her and could send those feelings if they would help. If there was one thing that he wanted from the first day he ever met her, it was for Rose Tyler's happiness.

While he tried to send his wife calming and confident thoughts, he kept working his way through the maze in her direction. His mind raced with thoughts of who might be behind this abduction. While it was possible that this was someone completely unknown to him, it all seemed too well planned and tailor made. Taking his wife as soon as they left the TARDIS, the telepathic dampening field, the giant puzzle without any instructions were all things that seemed very deliberate. Who was left after the war that would want to do something like this to him AND had the means to do it? Missy should be dead after that shot from the Brigadier (although, he knew that the Master had come back from what seemed to be his death too many times to count). The Black Guardian? The Eternals? This was far too complicated and indirect to be Daleks or Cybermen. He would find out eventually. Especially if this was some sort of revenge, since they would want him to know who it was that was going to defeat him once and for all (or thought they would).

He was interrupted from his musings by a sudden beeping sound coming from the sonic screwdriver in his pocket.


	9. Making Progress

Chapter Nine – Making Progress

Rose sat crumpled on the floor as she cried. The hopelessness of how impossible this task seemed threatened to suffocate her. She just wanted to run with her Doctors and help people. Saving the universe was what they always did and what they would always do. This unpleasant puzzle wasn't saving people or overthrowing an evil dictator. This was just trying to escape from some unknown adversary that apparently wanted to make her torturously watch as her husbands were chased and tossed about through a possibly unsolvable labyrinth. What was the point?

As her hearts sank further into despair, she felt both of her Doctors trying to calm her telepathically. Love and reassurance were the strongest and she basked in it as she tried to stop her tears. There was a tinge of confidence coming from Alex for a few minutes before she suddenly heard a beeping noise coming from her sonic screwdriver.

Rose pulled out the device and not knowing exactly what setting was required, she simply pressed the button in the hopes of it activating whatever was beeping at her. Before her eyes, she suddenly saw a video image of Alex with his usual manic grin. Rose couldn't help but smile in response before he began speaking.

“Hello!” Alex said with a reassuring smile. “I've sent both of your sonics a new program that I wrote. It should allow us all to send messages like this to each other while the telepathic dampening field is in place. I dislocated my shoulder when I fell, but it'll be alright. I don't know exactly what's got you so upset, Rose, but don't you worry. We are going to find you and get out of here, love. So, I've enabled communication and seem to be in yet another maze of hallways, what have you two got for information? The new setting to record and send is 647b.”

The video stopped and Rose took a deep shuddering breath. Reassuring herself that everything would work out, she tried to organize her thoughts on what she knew about here so that she could tell them and maybe work out this puzzle. She found the setting that would allow her to record her own message and activated it.

Rose gave a watery smile as she began, “Hello. Umm, ok, I'm in a room and there aren't any doors that I can see. There is this thing though.” She tried to point her sonic towards the game board in the hopes that they would be able to see it. “At first, I only saw the top layer of it, but I figured out how to open it after you fell, Alex. I think that the little brown and black pieces are the two of you. I can't move them at all, but they move on their own. I also can't move the red cube. When I tried to see if I could move the walls, the first time one of them just came off the board completely and I hoped that I could just take all of the walls out of your way, but it came back. And when it did, the little orange piece showed up with it. I can slide the walls around, but when I do, a bunch of the other walls change too and the last time I tried it, a hole opened up in the board. The bottom layer has a picture of a rose instead of a red cube, but who knows if this whole thing isn't just to trick you into trying to go somewhere other than finding me. I'm afraid to touch it again, in case I make things worse. I'm sorry that I put the orange thing on there and made you fall, my love. Maybe the two of you will have better ideas about what to do with this than I've had. I love you both.”

Rose pressed the button on her screwdriver again and it flashed a little green light to say that it had sent its message successfully. Her message had rambled a bit, but she was still upset and had a lot of facts to convey. Afraid to cause any more damage, she sat back down on the carpet and waited for a reply.

***********************

Evander pondered the small amount of information that Alex had provided in his message. It was brilliant of him to think about setting up that communication link between their screwdrivers. Why hadn't he thought of that? Well, probably because he was so used to being the only person in the universe that had one. This was a good setting to have, even if they shouldn't usually need it because of their unbreakable telepathic link. He still had a headache from this stifling of their bond and it was distracting. He didn't have any new information that Alex didn't already know, so he decided not to send a message until he had some insight to provide. 

What information had Alex provided? He had dislocated his shoulder when he landed in another labyrinth. Was it below where he was now? Or did he get teleported to an entirely different place? Tentatively reaching for the other Doctor, Evander felt like he might be below him. He would have reset and immobilized his shoulder right away. He was a doctor after all. It would take a day or two to heal completely though, especially without putting himself into a healing coma.

Finally, his screwdriver beeped again to indicate a new message. His hearts ached when he saw Rose's tearstained face and watery smile. The information she gave him though made him stop working though the maze to think about what to do. Whoever had put them in this game, had put her in the position of being partly responsible for what happened to them. They wanted her to think it was her fault if they were harmed. That might help narrow down who could be behind this, but that wasn't the most important thing right now.

Rose could move the walls, but it had unknown side effects when she did. The direction he was sensing Rose's presence seemed to be where that red cube was on the board, but not below him. Changing the settings on his sonic, he scanned to find where she was in relation to himself more accurately. She wasn't below him, she was on this level. And Alex seemed to be below him. So what was the image of the rose on the bottom level? Focusing his mind on the memory of the image she had sent of the levels, he looked over the maze itself. Ah! There was something important!

Evander flicked to the correct setting and began his message, “Ok, first things first, I love you, Rose. Please don't cry. Next, as well as feeling it, I also scanned and Rose is on this level, in the direction of the red cube. Alex, you are below me, so I presume you fell through to another floor of wherever we are. Rose, I noticed something about those levels though, darling. Take a close look at them and you'll see that the walls on every level match the others. When you change one of them, you change them all. Don't worry about moving any walls right now, because I saw the maze and I can get to the red cube as long as it stays that way. I will find both of you and we will get out of here.”

He thought about where he had gone between the time that Rose had recorded her image of the labyrinth and where he was now. He only had to back track a little bit to follow the path that he saw would get him through. He still heard the creature growling, but it seemed to be in the opposite direction from where he was heading, so he tried not to worry about it too much. At the rate he was going, he should be able to reach her in about ten minutes. Feeling confident for the first time since their arrival, Evander began moving again, hope warming his hearts that this would be over soon.

**********************************************

Alex had stopped moving when he got Rose's message. Was he going the right way? The red cube on his level was in a different direction from where he was before. Should he be heading away from her now and call her location 'North?' This stupid puzzle was giving him a headache. No, that was the telepathic dampening field. Well, maybe both. That was when Evander's video came through.

Now though, he was well and truly confused. Evander said that Rose was on his level and Alex was below him, but Alex's scan showed Evander above him and Rose several levels below him. And the walls matched from level to level. And Rose could control the walls, but whenever she did, something else would happen. Someone had put her in a position of control and yet she had no control at all. They wanted her to feel guilty and afraid. The thought of that kind of manipulation of his wife just angered him more. Whoever was trying to make her feel like that, was not going to have a good day once he found them.

He concentrated on the image of the labyrinth that Rose had sent and compared it to where he had gone so far. He landed directly below Evander when he fell and had been following his sense of where Rose was. As he thought about that and assessed the turns he had made, he realized that he was still heading towards the red cube. The walls matched vertically on the board, but in reality, the red cubes were all in the same corner. He needed to map out a path for himself to the red cube on this level in the hopes that it would somehow get him where he needed to go.

As he worked on that with one part of his magnificent brain, he started to record another message. “I've worked out a bit of this, but there is still something that doesn't make sense. First, what I've worked out. Looking at the maze you sent, love, and following my sense of where you are seems to have me heading towards the red cube on my level. That tells me that they are actually all aligned vertically. While the walls match based on the orientation of the boards, they are flipped around on the actual levels in relation to the cubes. For that reason, I'm going to keep heading towards the red cube on my level and I've worked out a path as well, so don't worry about moving any walls for me. What I haven't worked out is this, my scans do show that Evander is above me, however they show that Rose is below me. We'll have to chew on that one for a while I think. In the meantime, Rose, sit tight and we will come to you. Don't worry about the game board, but check the room for any sign of doors or clues as to who might be behind all of this. I'll see you soon.”

As he finished his message and got the little green light that told him it had been sent, he started down the path that he had worked out to get him through this maze. It would take him a while, since they had been working on going in a different direction on the level above. But now that he had a map in his head, it wouldn't be too difficult...he hoped.

*****************************************

Rose finally felt like she could relax a little after listening to her Doctors working through the problem. As long as the walls didn't start moving on their own again, they should be able to get to her relatively easily now. Alex had given her a job to do though, she needed to search this room more thoroughly. She had looked around a bit before, but stopped when she came across the most prominent thing in the room (namely the game board). 

Starting at the section of panelling just to the right of the game board, Rose began checking the walls for hidden doors, buttons or writing; anything that might be important. She worked her way through each panelled section, clockwise around the room. When she got to the fourth panel, she found a small, square button approximately half way up the wall. Despite her worry of once again making things worse, she knew what her husbands would do and pressed the button.

The wood panel above turned into a display screen of some kind and a dark figure appeared. The features were so blurred that she couldn't even tell if it was a man or woman addressing her. Rose wasn't sure if the Doctors would see this, so she activated the recording setting on her screwdriver again. In an obviously distorted voice, the unrecognizable person spoke, “Hello, Rose. So nice of you to drop in. It has been amusing watching your boys make their way through my little playground. While I realize that you were never told the rules, that bit of communicating was cheating, so now there will be consequences. Just like when you tried to remove the walls from my labyrinth.” There was an ominous pause as the figure seemed to consider what kind of punishment would be appropriate.

“Well, the Scottish Doctor is being hunted and the pinstriped one has a boo-boo, so I think we'll give you something to keep you busy, my dear, wilting Rose. After all, you aren't playing with the game board anymore. How about a time limit, for you to find the door?” With an ominous and distorted laugh, the display went blank and was once again just a wooden panel.

Rose looked around worriedly. There was a door to find, but he or she had said something about a time limit. She didn't see a clock or anything, so what was...? Her thoughts were cut off by suddenly seeing the floor flooding with slowly rising water. Cursing loudly, she made sure that her sonic screwdriver picked that up on the video, and pressed the button to send this message to her Doctors. She doubted that this particular communication would be considered 'against the rules' since most of their adversaries wanted the Doctor to see the threats being made.

Rose steeled herself and immediately got to work continuing her search of every wall panel around the room. She wasn't sure exactly how long it would take for the water level to become dangerous, but it likely wouldn't be what most sane people would consider enough time.

As the ice cold water began to soak through her shoes, Rose pushed aside the panic that threatened to surface and made herself work faster.


	10. Rising Waters

Chapter Ten – Rising Waters

 

By the time Evander finished watching the video Rose had just sent him, the Oncoming Storm was blazing. His path through the labyrinth was no longer cautious. He strode forward tall and glowering. If there had been any sort of breeze, his coat would be flapping behind him, red satin on display. But the air in this horrid place was deathly still and silent.

He was close to her now and could feel her worry at the rising water in her prison. She wasn't panicking. Rose was used to this sort of thing and there was no need to panic until the last minutes. Even if the water filled the room completely, her respiratory bypass would give her some more time to make her escape.

Standing outside of her location, it did indeed look like a red cube. Narrow wooden boards covered all sides and, he presumed, the top as well. The whole structure was painted bright red and there was no obvious door anywhere. He circled the cube and examined all sides for any imperfections that might indicate a door.

Finding nothing that way, the Doctor jumped up to grasp the top edge of the cube and pulled himself on top. In the centre of the roof, there was a small door, just big enough to pull her through. He ran to it and immediately ripped it open.

Inside, he could see Rose swimming around the room as she searched for a way out.

“Rose!” he called to her. “Swim to the middle, darling! I'll pull you out!”

As soon as she was within reach he pulled her up and she collapsed on top of him, drenching them both with the frigid water. She shivered a bit, despite her advanced biology. After swimming for several minutes in her search for an escape route and suddenly being out in the air, she couldn't help but feel the cold.

Evander held her tightly and rubbed her arms to help warm her up. Placing his forehead against hers, he basked in their renewed connection for a few moments. His head had been aching without her there. He had Alex there for a bit when they were trying to reach her, but it wasn't the same. He still felt the pain of the dampening field on that bond, but feeling Rose again was a huge relief.

They kissed each other passionately and then flopped onto their backs side by side.

Rose finally broke the silence, “Thank you, Doctor. I don't think I would have found it in time.”

“Of course you would have, Rose,” he assured her with a kiss to her temple. “It was easier from out here though, the sides are smooth, so openings were more obvious.”

“We need to find Alex and then, we need to get to the TARDIS. Any idea who that person on the video was?” Rose asked as her mind refocused on their current situation. 

“I have a few ideas of who it could be,” he answered. “But just from the nature of this whole situation, not so much from the video itself. Even with all of those possibilities in mind though, that knowledge isn't going to help us get out of here. So, unless they feel like showing themselves, I'm more inclined to focus on leaving.”

“Alright, so Alex is going to try to get to the spot right underneath where we are now. What do you think he'll find there? We can't see where he is from that game board anymore and I'm afraid to use the sonics to communicate again in case our captor wants to punish us for breaking the rules.” Rose was working out a plan now that she had one of her husbands back. 

None of them had been thinking about how to get out of the place after finding Rose, it was always about just reaching her. Now they needed to keep together and find Alex as well as the TARDIS.

“Well, I'm sure he can tell from our feelings, that I've found you and you're safe. We don't need to send him a message to let him know that. It's hard to feel the TARDIS with that bloody dampening field in place, but I don't think she's moved from where we landed,” Evander replied as he stroked her hair.

They were still lying on top of the red cube that had served as her prison. Rose sat up and looked in the direction of the labyrinth that Evander had just escaped. Squinting into the distance, she was able to look over the top of the walls and back to the TARDIS.

“I think I can see her! Do you think we could climb over the top of the walls from here?” Rose wondered.

“Hard to say,” he answered with a wince as he remembered the shock he received trying to get on top of the walls earlier. “We tried to climb on top when we first started, but there was a force field in place to prevent it. It may still hurt us from the other side as well. Of course, with this bird's eye view, I could plan our route through from here and we wouldn't get lost.”

“Ok, we just have to get Alex here somehow,” Rose said with her brow furrowed in thought. “Do you think that you and I could reach him telepathically together? Would that be against the rules?”

“I have a feeling that the 'rules' are made up as we go along to suit the whims of our jailer. We aren't currently in danger, so anything we do is likely to trigger something. Then again, not doing anything might just give us a penalty for giving up or something,” Evander told her as he slowly paced around the rooftop. After a moment, he added, “As for whether you and I could reach him together, I'm not sure. We've been a bit negligent with your training.

“Well then, no time like the present,” Rose said as she sat cross legged and looked up at him expectantly. “We have a task to work towards, teach me how.”

The Doctor unconsciously ran a hand through his hair in a manner reminiscent of Alex. As that thought occurred to him, he quickly thrust his hand into his pocket instead. Rose smirked at him and with a sigh, he sat in front of her. Guiding her hands to his temples and placing his fingers against hers, he set about teaching Rose how to project her mental voice more strongly. They spent several minutes working on that before they tried to contact Alex.

********************************************

Doctor Alex Tyler was angry. He was beyond angry and well into furious. He was like fire and ice and rage and the storm at the heart of a sun. Someone was trying to drown his wife. Yes, Evander would probably reach her in time to help if she couldn't get herself out of it. Yes, Rose could regenerate again if absolutely necessary. But it didn't matter. Whoever this nut job was that trapped them here, had every intention of drowning Rose.

He blazed his way through the stupid hallways, along the path he had figured out would lead him towards the red cube on the game board that Rose had showed him. He could feel Rose's worry rising as her task became harder as well as Evander's fury that matched his own. But Evander was in a far better position to help her. He, on the other hand, just needed to find the way out of this damned place.

A labyrinth. Honestly? He almost expected David Bowie dressed in grey tights as the Goblin King to come waltzing around the corner juggling crystal balls. That was ridiculous of course. He and David were on great terms after he had managed to reconnect the rockstar/displaced alien with his home world. He was making even more money from his albums there than he had on Earth.

These thoughts were put to an end when he finally felt that Evander had found Rose, and his mood lightened a little. He was still going to do horribly nasty things to whoever was behind all of this. But none of them was currently in danger, so he managed to relax a bit.

“Everything I've done, I've done for you.... I move the stars for no one...” he sung quietly to himself as he continued stalking through the maddening hallways.

Alex grinned when he felt his wife and, well, his husband (and wasn't it odd to place that title on a man who had once been the same person as himself) as they tried to connect with him telepathically. 

~'Alex! Can you hear us?'~ the dual voices of Rose and Evander sounded in his mind.

He knew that they likely wouldn't hear his voice, but he might be able to send the intentions of his thoughts. As strongly as he could focus it, he sent, ~'Yes!'~

~'We can see the TARDIS from where we are. You just have to get back to us. We'll try to find a way through, but we won't leave this area in case we get separated again,'~ they informed him.

Alex sent them another affirmative thought and continued towards his goal in the hopes that there would be some way through once he got there. He still felt Evander above him and Rose below, but as he concentrated on that further, he realized that he was feeling both of them now, in both places. Now that was odd. Could these levels be somehow looped?

It occurred to him then that the lowest level, where he had been sensing Rose, was oriented the same way on the game board as the top level. They were identical. Maybe the levels were looped. If you kept falling through, you'd then find yourself back on top again.

The thought was helpful in that it didn't matter if he couldn't go up, he should be able to go down and still get back to them anyway. Now it was reminding him less of the movie Labyrinth and more of a silly video game. Who was behind this ridiculous trap?

He finally reached his goal and found a large red cube. It was taller than him, but not much and made from narrow wooden boards. The bright red paint reminded him of Rose's favourite skirt, but he tucked that thought away as he made his way around the box to find some clue as to what to do with the bloody thing.

There were no hidden panels or buttons on any side, so he decided to check the top. That, of course, was easier said than done with a dislocated shoulder. With his good arm firmly grasping the top edge of the cube, he jumped sideways to throw one of his legs on top of the structure. With much cursing and a fair amount of discomfort, Alex finally made it on top of the red cube.

In the centre of the roof, there was a small, square hatch that was just big enough for one person to fit through. Prying it open, he found that through the hatch was a dark abyss. Did he dare take a leap of faith in a world created by someone who wanted them dead? Who had sent a Hoix after them, dropped him from a dangerous height and then tried to drown Rose? This mysterious person had been making up the rules as they went along and they were undeniably NOT in his family's favour. But what other choice did he have?

Being the Doctor, he jumped.

*************************************************

Rose and Evander jumped down from the top of the cube as soon as they finished their message to Alex. The two of them were searching all around the box that was her prison for some access to the level below them. They were hoping for a staircase or elevator, but even just a hole would be something.

As they searched the stones on the ground in the area, Evander suddenly broke the silence, “Rose, darling? I need you to quickly and carefully come over here.” 

Rose could hear the slight alarm in his voice and realized that she could hear something breathing behind her. Looking up at the Doctor and definitely not behind her, Rose stood up and braced herself for whatever was about to happen.

At the roar that sounded behind her, Rose raced towards the Doctor as he quickly boosted her back up onto the box and grabbed hold to follow her. He made it just in time for the Hoix to crash into the side of the cube. It clawed at the sides, but didn't seem able to climb up after them.

“Oh, not one of those things again!” Rose moaned. “I don't suppose you've got a red bucket in your pocket?”

“I thought it was blue?” Evander said thoughtfully.

“It was, and I quote, 'not blue.' The blue one supposedly made it worse,” Rose replied with a glare.

He shrugged and reached into his pockets to see if there was anything useful there. “No red buckets, no pork chops, not even a banana,” he told her. “At least it seems too stupid to reach us up here.”

They both felt a sudden wave of emotions from Alex. A sense of thrill mixed with fear was followed immediately by immense pain. They instantly reached for each other's temples as they shouted to him mentally, ~'Are you alright?'~

**************************************

Alex was falling through the pitch black abyss, when he suddenly landed on an almost identical red box to the one he had just jumped into. He landed on his feet, but not expecting that, he twisted and fell over onto his already injured shoulder. He groaned painfully as he felt much of the healing that had been happening over the past hour or so end up completely undone. His shoulder was thankfully, still in place, but there was definitely some tearing of ligaments and such. He wished idly for the body of his last incarnation that had seemed so much more sturdy for handling this kind of abuse.

Shaking his head to clear it, he took in his new surroundings, he could see that he was indeed on top of a red cube that was almost identical to the last one he saw. There looked to be another maze on this level, but he didn't need to worry about that. Checking with his sonic screwdriver, he was indeed closer to his spouses and should be able to pass through just one more of those passageways to reach them. He wasn't looking forward to another landing like that, however.

Opening the hatch on this box, the abyss below looked blue. Thinking back, it was the colour of the sky when they first arrived here. He supposed that was a good sign that he would end up on the same level as the TARDIS.

“Well, allons-y!” he exclaimed as he jumped again hoping for a softer landing.

When he landed this time, he tried to roll with the fall a bit and directed himself to the side that was not injured. However, when he opened his eyes, he found himself face to face with a rather irritated Hoix. He heard Rose squeak and suddenly, two sets of hands were helping him up. Rose's arms wrapped around his waist tightly and she nuzzled her face into his chest, reassuring herself that he was safe.

Evander was already scanning Alex's shoulder with his sonic to assess the damage. Evander hissed through his teeth and frowned at what he saw. “That's going to take a while to heal,” he said. “Best get you home.”

“So what's the plan then, boys?” Rose asked. “The TARDIS is over that way,” she said as she pointed across the top of the labyrinth. “And Mr. Grumblypants here isn't likely to just let us past.”

“We could try your idea of jumping on top of the walls from here, Rose, but there's no guarantee that will work and then we would be in a precarious position with Mr. Grumblypants. And while I know perfectly well that we are all usually quite capable of out running a Hoix, since we've done it before, Alex is injured and that could be enough to slow us down,” Evander stated as he visually scanned the area, taking careful note of the increasingly irritated alien growling in their direction.

“Have you got any food in your pockets, love?” Rose asked Alex.

He checked his various pockets and eventually pulled out a banana, a granola bar and some gum.

“Will that be enough?” she questioned again.

“Better than nothing,” sighed Alex. “Have you mapped out a route through yet?” he directed to Evander.

“Yes, but I don't want you at the back. I'll take the food and worry about the Hoix, you take a look at the path, because you are leading the way,” Evander told him.

“I'm fine, honestly,” Alex huffed. He could feel that the other Doctor was worried about him, but it was his shoulder that was injured, not his legs.

“Then you can make sure that Rose gets back safely. I've got the Hoix.” From the tone that he used, there would be no arguing the point further.

“Fine,” Alex sighed as he took Rose's hand. “Whenever you're ready.”

Evander decided to start with the food that might take the longest for the creature to both go after and figure out. He tossed the pack of gum past it to land as far from the entrance to the labyrinth as possible. As soon as it turned toward the smell of food, he whispered, “Now.” They leapt from the top of the cube and were all off running.

The trio made it a fair distance before the Hoix roared again and they heard it coming. Alex pulled Rose around the corners roughly as they raced back toward their time ship. When they could hear the alien breathing heavily behind them, Evander opened the granola bar and tossed it off in a direction they were not heading in the hopes that it would get turned around and not follow so closely.

They made it back to the garden and raced across the courtyard towards the wooden doors and their way out. Rose and Alex crashed into the doors only to find that they wouldn't open. There was no lock visible, but no amount of wrestling would open them. Alex had his sonic out and was trying to find a way through, but he couldn't tell if they were sealed somehow or just stuck. He decided to try Donna's method and started kicking at the doors with everything he had.

While Alex and Rose worked on getting the doors open, Evander kept a close watch on the entrance to the labyrinth, in case the Hoix managed to track them here. Of course, with the noise his spouses were making while fighting with the doors, it wouldn't take long in any case. 

The alien in question stalked into the garden area a moment later and gave one more menacing roar before it started to charge towards them.

With one more violent kick to the doors, they were finally open and the three of them rushed through. The Doctors slammed them shut just in time for the Hoix to crash into them on the other side. The door held as they leaned against it. Rose ran hurriedly to their beloved TARDIS and fumbled her key into the lock. Once the time ship was open, they ran to safety and as one, leaned against the inside of the TARDIS doors with a sigh of relief, knowing that one Hoix had nothing on the hoards of Genghis Kahn and they couldn't get through there either.

Rose almost immediately started giggling and ran to dance around the console. Alex smirked at her and Evander just shook his head.

“Oh, I love the running!” Rose said and both Doctors suddenly tensed at her words. She felt their sudden melancholy at what she said and looked at them both with confusion. “What is it? What did I say?”

Alex and Evander looked at each other and nodded. “Let's go fix up Alex's shoulder a bit first and then, we'll tell you about it,” Evander told her. Their grief over whatever memory she had brought to mind was readily apparent, but Rose decided not to push.

“Alright,” she said quietly. “You boys go to the medbay and I'm going to have a shower and change into some dry clothes. Meet me in the library after?”

“Yeah,” Alex said and kissed her on the forehead before heading through the doors leading deeper into the ship.

Evander flicked the controls that would put them into the vortex and away from wherever they had been. He would find out who it was that had trapped them there and tried to kill them. Whoever it was had been playing a game and it wasn't over yet.


	11. Serious Conversations

Chapter Eleven – Serious Conversations

When the Doctors finally joined Rose in the library, she was reading a textbook on temporal physics and chewing on the end of a pencil. They both chuckled softly and joined her on the sofa. Alex no longer had his arm in a sling, since Evander had healed the major damage and he would just need a few days of exercising for it to return to normal. She looked up from her book and smiled softly at both of her Doctors.

“What you said earlier, about the running,” Alex began suddenly. “It reminded us of something that happened while we were separated. We never really talked about the more serious stuff that occurred during that time.”

“We're going to share the memory with you, Rose, but you need to know that the memory will include my feelings as well. It's a painful memory and we want you to be prepared for that,” Evander said as he took hold of her hands.

Rose looked back and forth between them, unsure of why they were so worried about this. But if they felt that this was the best way to share this with her, then she would gladly endure it. “It's alright, you can show me,” she told them reassuringly.

Alex closed his eyes as he focused on sending Rose his memories from Messaline. It started with the unexpected take-off with Donna and Martha and them landing in the middle of a battle field. Then he showed her the creation of Jenny and she felt his anguish at having a child that reminded him so much of her. Rose knew that he was in pain while she was gone, but feeling the anguish of her loss and his dream that if he were ever to have a child again, that he would have wanted it to be theirs together. He showed her the experiences of her brief life and how she gave it up to save him.

When Alex opened his eyes again, he gazed into the tearful eyes of his wife. She pulled both of them into her arms and together they mourned their lost daughter. Rose had inadvertently quoted Jenny when she said that she loved the running. And while she was sad for making him relive this painful memory, she wasn't sorry that she now knew about Jenny. The daughter or step-daughter that she never knew. His memories of her did remind her of herself when she was younger. She was blonde, with a small, cute nose and her gymnastics could have won more than the bronze.

“I'm sure,” Evander said quietly as he broke the silence, “that you have questions.”

Rose thought for a moment before answering. “First, I want to say that she was brave and beautiful and I'm sorry.” She squeezed their hands before continuing, “I wish I could have known her. I guess I would have been her step-mum?”

Alex nodded stiffly and rubbed his thumbs over the back of her hand. Evander was just sitting quietly as he held her other hand and stared at the coffee table.

“You can ask, Rose. I don't mind,” Alex said as he braced himself for the inevitable question.

“Do you want more children?” Rose asked.

Neither Doctor could quite hide his surprise that she had chosen to ask that in particular. They of course assumed that she would want children and would wonder if they could.

“I.... well, ... don't you?” Alex stuttered in response.

“We just assumed that you would...” Evander said as he looked at her questioningly.

“I don't know,” Rose answered honestly. “It's not something that I've really aspired to. It would be difficult with the life we lead, really. Do you think we should though, since we're the last Time Lords? Do we have a responsibility or something?”

“You don't have to do anything that you don't want to, darling,” Evander assured her.

“And there's lots of time,” Alex added. “Centuries in fact. But if it's something that you decide that you want, it's possible.”

“We would have to create a loom, like they used on Gallifrey. But we could do it. In fact, since it is just the mixing of genetic material, we could have all three of us as parents instead of just two,” Evander explained.

“Ok,” Rose said and swallowed nervously. “That's good to know, but I don't think I'm ready for that right now. Like you said, there's lots of time. Maybe my next regeneration will be more the mother type?”

“Anything you want, love,” Alex replied as he put his arms around her.

“Absolutely anything,” Evander added and stroked her hair with the hand that wasn't holding hers.

Rose suddenly giggled. “We probably should have had this conversation before getting married.”

Alex chuckled softly, “Probably. It wouldn't have changed my mind though. You are all I've ever dreamed of.”

“More than I've ever dreamed of,” Evander added. “After the war, I never even thought there was a possibility. And now that we know that Gallifrey is out there somewhere, we aren't the last.”

“I know a bit of the explanation that Vastra told us, but could you show me what happened? We never really did have that conversation about the war,” Rose requested. “It might be a little less painful now that the ending is different?”

“Alright,” Evander said. “Alex only remembers one view point. I was there three times, so it would probably be best for me to share this one.”

Evander placed his hands on her temples. He didn't need to, but he wanted the physical contact as he relived not only what happened when there were three Doctors together, but also the time from the beginning of the war and what happened when he set aside the name Doctor. What he went through in that lifetime. Fighting on the front lines against the Daleks, the Nightmare Child, the Skaro Degradations and the Horde of Travesties. He knew that she didn't want a glossed over summary of events, she wanted to understand all of it, so he shared it with her. He shared it from all three perspectives.

When he had finished sharing the memories with her, the three of them sat quietly together for a long time. The Doctors rested their heads against hers and they all just enjoyed each other's presence in their minds.

When Rose finally felt able to talk about it, she asked, “Why would the Moment choose my appearance?”

“Do you really need to ask that, Rose?” Alex prompted. “Who else could ask the right questions and show me the right things to make me see what I needed to see?”

“But you didn't know me then. Wouldn't it have been better to choose Susan? Or your mother or something?” she asked.

Evander responded by saying to her the Gallifreyan words of devotion that the three of them had vowed to each other. “That goes for future, present AND past. Even if I didn't know you then, Rose. Even then, my hearts longed for yours without knowing it. It's your compassion, your ability to help me find the truth and push me in exactly the right directions to get things right. You can do that for me in a way that no one else has ever done. Whether I knew you then or not, you were the right choice.”

“Will we find Gallifrey?” Rose couldn't help but ask them.

“Of course we will,” Alex replied though they could all feel that none of them were as sure of that statement as it sounded. “We are the Stuff of Legend. If anyone can find where Gallifrey is hidden, it's us.”

They all smiled and stood up from the sofa. “Come on,” Evander said. “I think we all need some sleep.”

Rose and her Doctors walked together to their room and snuggled in their large bed together. They had been through quite an ordeal that day and could all use some rest to heal and recharge before they faced their next adventure. As the TARDIS spun idly through the time vortex, the trio slept peacefully in each other's arms and dreamt of red grass and orange sunsets with silver leaves making tinkling noises in the breeze.


	12. Exploring Vienna

Chapter Twelve – Exploring Vienna

Rose stepped out of the TARDIS into Vienna in 1786. The dress she had found in the wardrobe room was spectacular. The height of fashion for this era, the bodice was cinched tight at her waist and bumped out wide at her hips. The skirts were enormous and the with all the layers of ruffles, the dress weighed a ton. It was mainly Rose's signature red colour, but the centre panel of the skirt was white, as were the lacy cuffs that flowed from her elbow length sleeves and everything was trimmed in gold. Rose had piled her hair up high on her head and let a few curls drop down to frame her face. The whole thing was topped with a red hat that was covered in white feathers. Rose felt like a queen.

“Are you sure you two don't want to change into something more appropriate to the period?” Rose asked her husbands.

“Rose, darling, you know we don't do that,” Doctor Evander Tyler told her with a roll of his eyes.

“You look spectacular, my love,” Doctor Alex Tyler added with a kiss to her hand. “Are your shoes period as well or did you find something that you can run in?”

Rose laughed and lifted her skirts just enough to show she was wearing trainers underneath.

“Perfect,” Evander said as he took her arm. “With you here, I have no doubt that we'll be running sooner or later.”

Rose began to stroll down the street with a Doctor on each arm. “I'm sure, Doctor, that you did plenty of running while we were separated that had nothing to do with me,” she countered.

“Well, I suppose,” he answered. “But, then it was all Amy's fault.”

“So, what are you two going to show me today, in 1780's Vienna?” she asked.

“Well, I thought that since you enjoyed our visit to Venice a while back, you might like to dress up more than you had a chance to before and we could go to an opera. Never taken you to an opera before,” Alex said with a sniff and straightening of his tie that told Rose he was quite proud of himself for what he thought would be an impressive date.

“It sounds delightful. Which opera are we going to see?” Rose asked. She wasn't very familiar with opera, but was open to learning more about it.

“Le nozze di Figaro,” Evander replied. “Mozart of course. What better composer could we choose to introduce you to opera?”

“I can't wait,” she said with a broad smile.

It was still early afternoon, so the trio spent some time exploring Vienna. As they were passing St. Stephen's Cathedral, Rose noticed that something seemed off. It wasn't the people, but it felt like there was something missing from the scene. Looking up at the gothic structure, she realized just what it was.

“There's something wrong here, loves,” she began. “Where are all the pigeons?”

“What?” Evander asked as he visually scanned the area.

“That is strange, isn't it?” Alex observed as he spun around with his hands buried in the pockets of his long coat. “Generally, an area like this with lots of people and tall structures, they'd be everywhere.”

“Not an immediate threat, but definitely curious,” Evander commented.

Rose still didn't know all of the settings on her sonic screwdriver, but there was one setting that she insisted on learning right away; scanning for alien tech. Discreetly removing her sonic from the small, drawstring purse she was carrying, Rose began to scan the area for any out of place technology (which, considering the time, was pretty much any tech at all). 

“I think there's something that way,” Rose said as she tried to interpret what her sonic was telling her.

Alex took hold of her hand and looked over her shoulder at the readings as well. “Ooh! Very unusual,” he remarked. “Cloaking technology. Someone is visiting and doesn't care to be seen.”

“Do we have time to check it out before the performance?” Rose asked. “I'd hate to miss it.”

“No worries, love. The theatre is in that general direction anyway and we still have a few hours,” Alex told her reassuringly.

Following the readings from Rose's sonic, they found themselves in a park. Once again, they noticed an almost total lack of any birds.

“There should definitely be birds here. There are trees everywhere,” Evander said and suddenly, he took off running. As he approached one of the trees, he jumped to grab one of the lower branches and stepped up the trunk of the tree to end up climbing quite high into its branches.

Rose and Alex looked at each other with raised eyebrows, not quite expecting Evander to do something quite so athletic. They walked together to the base of the tree to see what he was doing. Evander had found a nest and was examining it carefully.

“It's May and this nest is empty. It's brand new, but there's no sign of there having been any eggs in here at all. Where did they go?” Evander said mostly to himself.

“Hey monkey-boy! When you're done playing Tarzan, you can come check out these readings with us. I think I found our cloaked spaceship,” Alex called up the tree.

Rose and Alex were looking up towards apparently nothing, but actually quite a large something. The invisible spaceship was parked right over the centre of the park and Alex was scanning it with his sonic to determine who the aliens were.

“Hmm... Andromeda galaxy, whoever this is, they are pretty far from home. This technology level, in this time period, narrows it down some,” Alex muttered to himself.

Evander joined them beneath the invisible ship and did his own scan as he listened to Alex working through the information at hand. “Add in that it has something to do with birds and it really only leaves one option, doesn't it?” Evander suggested.

“Ornithians? What would they be doing here this early? And what would they want with Earth birds?” Alex asked with a perplexed look on his face.

“Well, they aren't especially dangerous. I think we can safely go to the performance and check this out afterward,” Evander said as he tucked his sonic back into his pocket.

“Ok, what are we keeping an eye out for then? What do Ornithians look like?” Rose asked. If there were aliens wandering around eighteenth century Vienna, she wanted to have some idea what to expect.

“Bird people,” Alex told her as he whirled around for one more look at the park. “Same basic height and proportions as humans, but covered in dark green or brown feathers.”

“Alright then, we'll keep our eyes peeled for bird people while we go listen to some Mozart,” Rose said as she took both of their arms again.

When they arrived at the Burgtheater, Rose was in awe of the beauty of the space. The ceilings were very high and huge chandeliers hung everywhere. People where looking oddly at the Doctors, but since they were on the arms of Rose, who was dressed as rich nobility, they ignored their unusual attire. They were seated in a private box on the second floor to watch the performance and Rose felt more like a queen by the minute.

As the performance went on, Rose wondered why so many people didn't like opera. It occurred to her then that she was hearing it all translated so that she would understand the words, but had she watched this without the translation circuit, it would all be in Italian. While the singing was really nice and the costumes were beautiful, if she couldn't understand the words, she probably wouldn't be able to sit through the whole thing. But she could understand it now and it was lovely. It was also very long.

When the four acts were finished and the call for encores had finally ceased, the Doctors led Rose down towards the orchestra in the hopes of catching Mozart himself.

Evander managed to push his way through the crowd, pulling Rose along with him, who subsequently pulled Alex along behind her. “Herr Mozart!” Evander called. “So glad we caught you before you left. My wife was so anxious to meet you, sir.”

Doctor Evander Tyler pulled his wife forward as she extended her hand towards Mozart in greeting.

“It's such a pleasure to meet you, Herr Mozart,” Rose said sweetly. She could feel Alex brooding behind her and knew it was because Evander had been first to call her his wife and they couldn't get away with saying she had two husbands in this time period.

“The pleasure is all mine, I assure you,” he said as he bowed and took her hand. “What a lucky man you are to have such a young and beautiful wife.”

“I am Doctor Evander Tyler and my lovely wife is Rose. This is my brother Doctor Alex Tyler,” Evander said smoothly as he felt a wave of jealousy from Alex. “We were visiting Vienna from London and simply couldn't miss a performance by the famous Mozart.”

“Quite right, you couldn't! Now, we are on our way to a party in celebration of my latest opera, you should all join us,” Mozart said as he collected his score from the piano.

“It would be an honour, sir,” Rose said as she smiled at her Doctors. “We love a good party.”

~'Brother indeed,'~ Alex snarked towards Evander as they followed Mozart's group out of the theatre and towards the party, each of them holding one of Rose's arms. ~'She's my wife the next time we're in a situation like this. You look old enough to be her father.'~

~'I don't know what you're complaining about,'~ Evander replied. ~'You got to take her to all those society parties in the parallel universe. It's my turn and the apparent age difference is far more acceptable in this time period than it would be in modern day London.'~

~'Fine, but I want a dance with her too,'~ Alex pouted.

Rose could tell her Doctors were arguing telepathically, but they were leaving her out of it, so she just enjoyed the attention she was getting. The performers from the opera were all walking along together and their excitement from the successful performance was tangible.

There was drinking and dancing as well as meeting several other relatively famous people. One of whom was Mozart's friend, Joseph Haydn. He had nothing but praise for Mozart's work and was very pleasant to speak with.

Rose was asked to dance by several gentlemen, but her Doctors always claimed her hand instead. At one point, Wolfgang Mozart himself asked her to dance and she jumped at the chance before either of them could object. Mozart was much better at the dances of the time than Rose was, but she managed to keep up as the lively young man led her around the floor.

As the music ended, Mozart stared in shock towards the window. When Rose turned to see what could have him so surprised, she saw a man with dark green feathers on his face, bright yellow eyes and a long, slender nose looking curiously through the window. Rose immediately ran towards the door nearest that window and called for her husbands telepathically. Mozart followed Rose through the party crowd to see what this could possibly be about.

Four people burst through the door and startled the young Ornithian from his examination of the party.

Before he could run, Evander spoke to him, “Wait! We can help with whatever has brought you here. I promise, we can help.”

The alien cocked his head to the side as he considered the fact that he could understand this strange man. “You cannot help, I need a new song. You are not feathered, you cannot sing,” he said in a soft, flute-like voice that sounded almost like a young boy, though he was obviously a man.

“Ah!” Alex said as realization hit him. “You need a song for your mate?”

“Yes,” the Ornithian replied cautiously. “You cannot help me, you cannot sing. I only stopped here because I heard the music and was looking for the birds.”

“Is that why you've been taking all the birds around here?” Evander asked.

“Yes, the other birds will help me find a new song for her,” he answered with a dreamy smile on his face. 

“I think we might just have an even better solution for you,” Rose told him as she recognized that look. “This man, right here,” she said as she pulled Mozart in front of her, “is the greatest mind in the universe at finding new songs.”

“He has no feathers! Although, his colours are promising,” he stated as he looked closely at Mozart and considered his potential.


	13. King of the Night?

Chapter Thirteen – King of the Night?

 

Mozart stared at the alien in wide-eyed wonder. At first, he seemed to think the man was wearing a remarkable costume, but as the conversation went on, he realized that was definitely not the case.

“What do you think, Herr Mozart?” Alex asked him. “Do you think you could help our friend here find a new song for his girlfriend?”

“I.... yes... yes, of course I can,” he stuttered in response. “I need a piano and another drink.”

“Well,” Alex said as he addressed the Ornithian. “My name is Alex, this is Evander, Rose and ... would you prefer Herr Mozart or Wolfgang?”

“Umm, Wolfgang is fine,” he answered, still sounding a little frightened by the whole situation.

“I am Gai-no. The birds here have not been helpful, they always sing the same songs as if they don't know new ones. If I don't find a new song soon, I will lose her to another,” Gai-no explained.

“Where would be best, Wolfgang?” Evander asked the slightly less flustered composer.

“Well, my house is usually where I work, but I can't leave without telling Constanze where I am going,” Mozart replied.

“I'll tell her,” Alex said. “You find us a carriage, that's a bit of a walk.”

Alex went back inside to find Mozart's wife and encourage her to stay for the party so that she wouldn't come home to find an alien in their apartment. She also had their toddler with her and they'd be safest staying here with their friends for now. They would send Mozart back to retrieve them later.

As soon as they arrived at Mozart's residence, he immediately went to the piano. “I need to hear your voice to know what I'm working with,” he said quickly and led Gai-no through some vocal exercises to establish his vocal range and agility.

Wolfgang was smiling as he scribbled on the paper. “I wasn't expecting to be writing for a soprano when we arrived,” he said with a giggle. “This is glorious! It is perfection!”

Gai-no paced the room nervously. “What is he doing?” he asked.

“He's writing down your new song. Wolfgang thinks of the songs in his head and then writes them down before he shares them. He'll show you when he's done,” Rose assured the young Ornithian who ruffled his feathers anxiously.

While Mozart wrote, Rose wandered through the flat. The furnishings were lavish, but it seemed strangely empty. The lovely display cabinet was empty of knick-knacks, there were lighter patches on the walls where it looked like pictures or mirrors may have hung before, but were now gone, and while the furniture that they did have was expensive, it seemed like there should be more of it.

When the scribbling stopped, Mozart played his piece for Gai-no who seemed exceptionally pleased. They quickly set to work practicing it so that Gai-no would know the piece by heart as he couldn't seem to grasp the music notation that Mozart had written. There were no lyrics, it was just notes, but it was indeed perfection.

~'I was expecting Papageno, but that sounds like the Queen of the Night aria,'~ Alex thought to Evander.

~'It does indeed, but as he said, he wasn't expecting to be composing for a soprano tonight. The angrier parts seem to be missing, but without a story behind it, this song isn't meant to be angry. Still, the character and name certainly seem to be influencing the idea of Papageno,'~ Evander replied.

When they were done, Gai-no was thanking Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart profusely and assured them all that he would release all of the birds he had captured. 

Alex handed Mozart a small bag and when he looked inside, he laughed uproariously. He hugged Alex then and ran off to the party to retrieve his wife and son. Rose and her Doctors then, made their way back to the TARDIS.

“I think we may have an idea for your next operatic exposure, love,” Alex said with a smirk.

Rose smiled back. “He wrote about bird aliens, didn't he?” she asked.

“He certainly did. Well, they weren't aliens in the story. They were bird catchers in disguise. The very last opera he ever wrote contains a couple dressed as birds called Papageno and Papagena. Die Zauberflöte was still in its first round of performances when he died,” Evander explained.

“Well, it sounds like we have a plan for our next date night,” she said. “But for today, I think I've had enough opera. The Marriage of Figaro was long enough, thank you. And this corset is killing me.”

“Oh, I think we can help with that,” Alex whispered against her neck as he started pulling the pins from her hair.

They were still in the console room, but the Doctors seemed insistent that Rose's many layers of clothing be removed immediately. She slipped off her sneakers as they made their way through all the laces and buttons.

As soon as the corset was off and she could breathe again, Rose found herself lifted onto the jump seat and both Doctors were on her in an instant. Mouths and hands exploring all of the places that they knew would have her writhing with delight. She wasn't quite sure what their plans were for going past this as there wasn't exactly a comfortable, horizontal location in the console room. But she'd leave those logistics to the geniuses that were currently driving her higher and higher as they both had their cool fingers inside her and were once again mirroring each other as they sucked on her breasts.

Alex suddenly lifted her again and she was sitting on the edge of the console. She hadn't noticed when he had taken off his trousers, but she hadn't been paying very close attention to what their other hands were doing while she was on the jump seat.

Before she could think about that anymore, he was pounding into her. He sucked hard on her neck and Rose knew she would have marks everywhere before they were done. She couldn't help the little moans that escaped her throat as Alex took her fast and hard against the console. He laid her back and began to suck on her breasts again. She wondered why there weren't any controls poking into her back and realized that she was on top of the odd section that they didn't use very much. Evander had told her it was some kind of telepathic control panel.

She was so close to release and felt just a bit of disappointment when Alex finished before her. But it didn't last because as soon as he was out of the way, Evander flipped her around so that her breasts were pressed against the surface of the console and entered her again. His fingers tangled in her hair and he was hitting her in just the right place to send her flying over the edge. She groaned loudly as her insides clenched around him.

As Evander came closer to satisfaction himself, Rose thought about what Jack would think of them having threesome sex in the console room and figured that he'd be proud of her. She had just smiled at the thought when Evander moaned her name and the TARDIS suddenly started up.

“What?!” Alex gasped.

Evander realized where she had been touching and asked, “What were you thinking about, Rose?”

Rose blushed scarlet and said, “I think we'd better get dressed.”


	14. Where Are We Going?

Chapter Fourteen – Where Are We Going?

The Doctors gathered their clothes and haphazardly got dressed as they tried to assist the TARDIS with her flight towards wherever she was heading. But Rose ran to their room to find something more comfortable to wear since she was pretty sure that they wouldn't be going back to the eighteenth century just now.

~'What were you thinking of, darling? I'd like some idea as to where she might be taking us,'~ Evander asked her again while she got dressed.

~'Look, it's not what it sounds like, but I was thinking about Jack,'~ Rose thought to both of them. She felt their jealousy and betrayal. ~'Honestly! It's not like that! I wasn't thinking about having sex with Jack. I was thinking about how we were having amazing threesome sex against the console and thought Jack would be proud of me.'~

Their feelings of jealousy calmed a bit, but Alex felt the need to tell her, ~'I think we need to work a little harder if you're still able to think that clearly so soon after climax. Now, if you're presentable, you'd best come back to the console room. We've landed.'~

Rose returned to the console room wearing black trousers and a bright red jumper. She left her hair down since her head was a little sore from having it all pinned up for so long earlier. As she descended the stairs to where her husbands were checking the monitor, she sent them her apologies and hoped that they could forgive where her mind had wandered. She could hardly be held responsible for stray thoughts like that.

Neither of them turned when she entered and her hearts broke a little at that. “Look, I'm really sorry, but there was this one time, when Jack was travelling with us and we were both drunk, where we made a list of our fantasies and being taken up against the console happened to be on mine. You were both fulfilling my deepest desires and I was reminded of discussing things like that with Jack. He's like a brother to me, I'd never even think about having sex with him,” Rose said with increasing desperation. Today had been so wonderful and she had gone and messed up everything.

They both turned to her as they felt her emotions breaking down with guilt and worry. Despite the hit they felt to their egos at her thinking about another man while she was with them, she needed some reassurance that they were going to get through this. Instinctively, both Doctors put an arm around her shoulders to calm her down.

“Alright, love, I understand. I may not like it, but I understand,” Alex told her as he stroked her hair.

“I'm trying not to take it too hard that you were thinking about Jack while I was fulfilling your fantasies, darling. I may not be as experienced as Jack, but I would hope that we could be enough for you,” Evander grumbled.

“Oh, Doctor!” Rose cried as she threw her arms around Evander's neck. “You are more than enough! Ever since you told me that it travels in time, you've been the only one for me. With two of you here to love and protect me, I couldn't even dream of anything else. And it was incredible! Please, keep console sex on the list, we may just want to deactivate the telepathic controls next time. Should one of you end up touching them, we might end up at the Playboy mansion.” Rose was teasing now in the hopes of easing the tension in the room.

“I doubt it,” Alex said rolling his eyes as he went back to the monitor and left Rose in Evander's arms. “But we aren't far off since we may be near Jack just now. A pleasure planet is not surprising knowing what happened to Jack the last time we were looking for him.”

Evander rubbed her back as he let the last of his jealousy ease away at her confessions. It was his insecurity due to inexperience that had allowed him to slip so far when she admitted to thinking about Jack while he was climaxing inside her. Though, they had been a little careless when he considered that they hadn't been worried about what controls might be activated while taking her against the console.

“And I suppose, knowing that she always brings me where I need to go, perhaps Jack needs us right now,” Evander sighed.

“What do you mean she always brings you where you need to go?” Alex asked.

“Oh! I didn't share that memory with you, did I?” Evander realized. He immediately sent both Alex and Rose his memories of receiving a distress call from the Corsair and leaving the universe. There, the consciousness of the TARDIS had been placed into a human body so that a sentient asteroid, calling itself the House, could eat the artron energy. House's plans were foiled by the TARDIS herself, but during that time, the TARDIS was able to talk with him in a regular conversation and he learned so much about her feelings on their travels. She was still there with them, but the communications with her were feelings, not words now.

As the memory finished, Alex had tears in his eyes at the idea of talking with his longtime companion. He stroked the time rotor and sent his feelings of affection towards her and regret that he missed the chance to talk with her too.

Rose sat down on the jump seat as she processed all that had happened in the memory that he had just shared. She couldn't remember what happened during the time she spent connected to the TARDIS as Bad Wolf, but she was sure that they had communicated quite deeply then. 

“I think you're right. She would have just ignored my thoughts about Jack if he didn't need us right now. She's smart enough to know that we weren't actively looking for him,” she told them.

“Alright, where and when are we?” Evander asked Alex who was still studying the monitor.

“Erotica IV; no surprise there. 4729... ugh, why would he choose to come here now? Surely Jack is aware of how violent this place was in that time,” Alex replied.

“The last time I saw him, he was drinking himself into oblivion. I'm sure he knows,” Evander said as he swirled his red lined coat over his head dramatically before slipping it on.

“He had just lost Ianto, his grandson and was estranged from his daughter the last we heard. He can hardly be blamed for trying to forget for a while,” Rose said in defence of her friend.

“There was nothing I could do about the incident. The TARDIS wouldn't let me anywhere near it. Closest I could get was finding Jack afterwards, just before I regenerated,” Evander explained.

“Well, let's go see what trouble he's gotten himself into this time,” Rose said as she headed towards the doors.

“Rose, you need to stay right next to us the whole time we are here, understand?” Alex said as he caught her arm and looked straight into her eyes. “This place is extremely dangerous. Especially in this time period and especially for a young woman. I know there's no chance of you staying behind when we likely have to rescue Jack, but you need to understand that one of us has got to be with you at all times.”

“Alright, I understand,” she said as she touched his cheek softly. She grabbed Evander's arm on the other side and pulled both of their arms tightly against her sides before they went out the doors to find their dear friend.


	15. Mmmm Handcuffs

Chapter Fifteen - Mmmm Handcuffs

 

The city they encountered as they walked out of the TARDIS doors was filthy. There were bright signs shining over every door, trash piled up in the corners and alleyways, women and men wearing next to nothing and looking like they were higher than a kite as they stood on the streets looking for business. Rose felt like she needed a shower just from looking at them. Holding tightly to the arms of her Doctors, Rose allowed them to lead her along in whatever direction they thought they might find Jack.

“Do we have a plan?” Rose asked quietly and her husbands could feel how nervous she was.

“Well, I would suggest, we find a bar and ask if anyone has seen him,” Alex replied as if it should be simple.

“He is fairly memorable. It's a place to start anyway,” Evander added.

“Alright,” Rose sighed. “Let's just pick somewhere that doesn't look too disgusting, ok?”

“We'll never find Jack that way and you know it,” Alex said with a smirk and a bump to her shoulder.

“Oh, you had to go and be logical, didn't you?” Rose admitted as she rolled her eyes.

They came to an establishment with a name so dirty that the TARDIS refused to translate the sign over the door and figured it seemed the likeliest place to find Jack. The trio entered the club to find that there was a dark dance floor on the far side, the dancers seen only in frozen flashes of light as the strobes flickered to the pounding rhythm to the music. The place wasn't very crowded, but there were several groups dancing and many of the tables had couples or small groups occupying them. They found a small booth in the corner where they could sit together with Rose between them on the bench. The seat was upholstered in a red faux leather and felt a little sticky. 

The Doctors were scanning the room for likely people to ask regarding Jack's whereabouts. There had been several times when they were travelling together where they had left Jack on planets similar to this and had to find him when they returned. The difference then of course, was that he was looking for the Doctor and the TARDIS. This time, Jack would have no idea that they were here.

Rose was also observing the room, but she was looking for trouble. This place made her feel very uneasy. She wasn't sure if it was because of Alex's warning before they left the TARDIS or something else. Her extra senses as a Time Lady were still relatively new to her. It had been several months, but seeing timelines and feeling the presence of other telepaths nearby were things that she was having trouble making sense of. 

A waitress finally came over to take their order. She was wearing something that was barely more than a tiny, silver bikini, but Rose figured that was to be expected on a planet named Erotica IV. Her hair was curled in ringlets and bright purple.

Evander spoke for all three of them, “Two banana daiquiris and a Strawberry Margarita, please. I was wondering, would you happen to have seen a friend of ours around here lately? He goes by the name of Jack Harkness.”

She had been smiling sweetly as she took their order, until the mention of Jack's name. Rose realized at her sudden frown, that she wasn't nearly as pretty as she had originally thought. Her change in demeanour made wrinkles appear on her face that Rose hadn't noticed before.

“Oh he's a friend of yours, is he? I don't suppose you're here to pay his bill?” she replied sourly.

“Actually,” Alex interrupted. “We can probably take care of that for him. Especially if you might have an idea where he might be located? We would be most appreciative of your assistance.” He was dialling up the charm to get back on her good side in the hopes of getting some kind of information.

“I don't know for sure, but I heard he got into a bit of trouble with the owner of a bar down the street about a week ago. Ain't seen him since. I'll add his tab to yours,” she said and went back to the bar with a little too much sway in her hips.

Rose snuggled closer to Evander and reminded herself that Alex was only acting like that to convince her to tell them where Jack was. It was then that she realized that they all had some jealousy issues going on. She sighed and decided that they would need to discuss these things later.

The waitress returned with their drinks as well as the address of the bar where Jack had last been seen and his bill. Both Doctors raised their eyebrows at the total, but he wasn't short on credit sticks. 

Rose decided that she ought to tell her Doctors about her feeling in case it was important. “I'm still not very good at this, but do you two feel something odd? I don't know what it is, it just feels wrong somehow.”

“Part of it is probably because Jack is nearby somewhere. You didn't notice it about him before because you were so new to being a Time Lady and your senses were muddled. Then, we spent so much time with him that it probably felt normal to you, but being around Jack is difficult. He's a fixed point in time and space, so it messes with our senses a little,” Alex explained.

“Is that all of it though? Because I feel like there's more to it than that,” Rose said as she looked around the room some more and sipped her drink.

“I can't sense anything other than the fact that Jack is nearby,” Evander said as he picked the various garnishes off of his drink and tossed them on the table.

“Alright,” Rose said with a sigh, though it was apparent that she still felt there was something more that they were missing.

When they had finished their drinks and paid the bill (including what Jack owed the establishment), they started off towards the bar where he was last seen. The closer they got to the place, the stronger Rose's feeling of uneasiness grew. She knew that this was important, but it seemed that her husbands couldn't feel it, whatever it was.

They arrived at the address they had been given and a wave of apprehension came over all three of them when they saw the name on the sign; Bad Wolf. They looked at each other nervously before steeling themselves and going inside.

There was the usual bar area, as well as a stage that featured several dancers (both male and female). The trio walked over to the bar and sat on the stools as Alex tried to get the attention of the large man pouring drinks. When he finally approached them, Rose couldn't help but cringe a bit. He had several scars on his face, a few missing teeth and piercings just about everywhere possible.

Alex tried to look fairly neutral as he asked his questions, hoping that the man wouldn't know whether he was a friend or foe to Jack, just that he was looking for him. “I was told that this was the place to inquire about finding a man named Jack Harkness.”

“Maybe. What do you want with him?” the man asked gruffly.

“He and I need to have a little... chat. You see, he upset my wife,” Alex lied as he pulled Rose closer to him. “And no one upsets my wife and gets away with it,” he added menacingly.

The bartender chuckled darkly, “Is that all? Take a number. That piece of shit has upset plenty of wives and husbands and prostitutes. You name it. He's got bigger problems with my boss.”

“I'm sure he does, but surely, our talking to him for a few minutes wouldn't make any difference to his dealings with your boss,” Evander interjected.

“I s'pose not,” he said and motioned for them to follow him towards a staircase at the back of the bar. In a cold, damp room in the basement, they found Jack. He was chained to the wall and looked exhausted. They couldn't see any injuries on him, but knew that he healed very quickly. His clothing however was torn and covered in blood.

“They've had plenty of fun with him. Seems like he don't stay hurt for long and they can start all over again,” the bartender told them as he stood by the doorway and crossed his arms over his chest. It was obvious that he was not leaving them alone with Jack for their little conversation.

Jack looked up at the sound of voices and the relief in his eyes was obvious, although he seemed a little surprised about seeing them. Rose could feel the shift in his mood telepathically which was a huge shock. How in the world was she feeling Jack's emotions? She knew, however, that she had to play the part of being upset with him, since that's what Alex had said. She stalked towards Jack and knowing that their guard couldn't see her face, winked at him as she started yelling, “You bloody bastard! I should have known you'd get yourself into even more trouble. What did you do this time?”

“Oh, you know,” Jack replied hoarsely. “The usual. Gambled a little too much, came on to the wrong person. I'd be out of here by now except they seem to have found out a few too many interesting things about me.”

“I'm noticing something interesting about you right now, Jack,” Rose said with a raised eyebrow. He smirked at her knowingly, but didn't reply.

The Doctors looked at Rose curiously for a moment, then Alex walked right up next to him. He grabbed the front of his shirt roughly and spoke to Jack quietly so that their guard wouldn't hear what was being said, but it would look like he was threatening Jack.

“We're going to get you out of here. Do you know if there's an exit other than going through the bar?” Alex asked quietly. 

Jack tried to look scared as he nodded in response.

“Will you be ok to walk once I release you?” Alex whispered and received another nod.

~'Incapacitate the bartender somehow and let's get out of here,'~ Alex thought to Evander.

Evander reached into his pocket to see what he might have to help him and found the 'sleep patch' that Clara had tried to use on him after Danny had died. It wasn't at full strength since some of it had been used on Clara, but it should knock this man into a dream state long enough for them to get out of there. He approached the burly bartender with a friendly smile and moved to pat him on the shoulder. Instead, he slapped the patch onto the back of his neck and simply said, “Goodnight.”

Alex looked at him in shock. “Since when do you carry those around?” he asked as he noticed the little silver oval on the back of the man's neck.

“I don't usually. This one is half used already, but it happened to be in my pocket and it was the easiest way to get the job done. Now let's get out of here before he wakes up,” Evander replied as he helped Alex sonic open the chains holding Jack.

“It certainly took you guys long enough to get here!” Jack said as he rubbed his sore wrists.

“What do you mean?” Rose asked. “Why would you have expected us to come?”

“Uh, well... You told me you were coming. Although, I am a little surprised at the particular combination that I'm seeing. When are you? When was the last time you saw me?” Jack asked as they made their way up the stairs towards the back door of the bar.

“We were on our way to the trial so that I could access the matrix,” Alex said.

“Right before I regenerated away from looking like him,” Evander added with a nod towards Alex.

“What do you mean this particular combination, Jack? Had one of us regenerated the last time you saw us?” Rose asked worriedly.

“Calm down, Rose,” Jack said in reassurance. “You know I can't tell you about it. We're out of order. But the last time I saw you three, you told me that you'd be along to rescue me when I was locked up in the basement. I figured it probably meant now, especially considering the name of the bar.”

“Coming here now was a bit of an accident, really,” Rose told him. “But the TARDIS always seems to know what needs doing, so I'm sure she brought us here before things got too bad for you.”

“They hadn't figured out that I can't die yet, but they were looking to sell me to science as soon as they saw how quickly I was healing from their abuse,” Jack told them as they made their way through the back alleys where he wouldn't be seen.

They made it back to the TARDIS safely and suggested that Jack take some time to clean up and rest for a while. They agreed to meet in the galley later for supper.


	16. Family Ties

Chapter Sixteen – Family Ties

Rose pulled both of her Doctors towards their room. She wanted to clean up as well and had a few ideas to win her some points back with Evander. “Come on boys, we're taking a bath,” Rose said with a mental caress for both of them.

Evander huffed and rolled his eyes. “Why don't you two go ahead and I'll just...”

“Please,” Rose interrupted and stopped to put her hands on his chest. “Please,” she repeated as she looked into his eyes.

He looked into her eyes for a moment. He could tell that she wanted to do something to make up for their argument earlier, but didn't feel like he needed her to. It really wasn't her fault where her mind wandered. It hurt that she wasn't completely focused on him in that moment, but she didn't do it intentionally.

“You don't have to, darling. It's ok,” Evander told her.

“I know, but I want to. Please,” Rose said softly, her eyes pleading.

He closed his eyes and slumped a little in defeat. He really could deny her nothing. “Alright.”

Rose went straight into their en suite to start filling the bath with hot water and bubbles. Their tub was more than big enough for the three of them together, but the TARDIS could fill it very quickly and by the time they had all shed their clothing, it was ready. They settled side-by-side in the hot, fragrant water and all sighed as they finally relaxed from their rescue mission.

After a few moments, Rose wrapped her arms around Evander's neck and straddled his lap. She rested her head on his shoulder and buried her face in his neck. He grasped her shoulders and moved her so that their foreheads were touching, then wrapped his arms around her waist.

They sat for several minutes, breathing in the fragrant steam as Rose twisted her fingers in Evander's hair. Little by little, the tension eased from his shoulders and he kissed her gently.

He wasn't quite ready to look her in the eye yet, so he ran his fingers along the chain of her bonding pendant as he spoke. “I love you so much, darling. Ever since the last time I regenerated, I've been very insecure. I hide it behind being grumpy and brilliant, but I don't feel worthy of a new set of regenerations. I made such a mess of the last ones. And I definitely don't feel worthy of you or Alex being here with me,” Evander said and kissed her lightly.

“If any Time Lord deserved a new set of regenerations, it's you, well.... us,” Alex said. “How many times and in how many ways did you save the entire universe just since we separated? I'll grant that 700 years was in just one of those efforts, but to spend that much time just guarding a crack in time and space has to be worth something.” Alex sat next to them and occasionally played with some of Rose's curls as they floated in the water.

Rose rubbed her nose against Evander's and sighed. “I love you, Doctor. With both my hearts, I love you. Every version of you that ever has been and ever will be. You are the greatest man I have ever known. Your bravery, your compassion, your selflessness, are all reasons why you deserve that love and why the universe needs you to keep going. To keep showing everyone how we should live. Making a stand and making things better,” Rose told Evander as she stroked her hands through his silver hair and over his shoulders. 

She gazed into eyes that seemed to change with his moods from bright blue to almost grey, now, she wanted to see them darken with lust and circled her hips against Evander's. He couldn't help but thrust up against her with a groan. Rose whispered reassurances of her love and devotion in Gallifreyan as she slid against him in the soapy water. Their bodies slipped together seamlessly and Alex positioned himself behind Rose and wrapped his arms around her waist. 

With Evander inside her and Alex behind, Rose thought about just how lucky she was to be with them at all. If he hadn't come back after she said no, if she hadn't opened the TARDIS console when he sent her to safety, if she hadn't found a way back when the stars were going out, if they hadn't found this Doctor in time to stabilize the meta-crisis, they would be dead or horribly alone. So many forces were battling against them, but through all of that, they were here, together now.

All of them were moaning their love for each other as the passion in their bond grew stronger and stronger. Rose reached behind her to stroke Alex in time with Evander's thrusts into her and in complete synchronicity, they all saw stars at once and Rose called out their true name as they held her tightly.

They all relaxed in the water for several minutes while their breathing slowed as well as their hearts. The only sounds in the room then were their breaths and the soft popping of bubbles. Rose didn't want to spoil the moment with any mention of the passenger currently on board the TARDIS or the strange way she seemed to sense his emotions earlier. So she stayed quiet for the moment and just revelled in the blissful feelings coming from her husbands through their link.

It was Alex that finally broke the silence. “We should probably get out of here before our fingers turn all pruny.”

Rose giggled, but agreed and enjoyed the fact that their eyes couldn't leave her body as she stood up and grabbed a towel. They followed her out of the bath and she was equally enjoying the eye-candy of watching her husbands while they were naked and dripping with bath suds.

When they were all dressed again, they went to the galley to begin preparing dinner. Rose was making salad while Alex and Evander seemed to be in competition over who could make their dishes better. Evander was preparing pasta with alfredo sauce and Alex was grilling chicken to go with it.

When Rose finished with the salad, she toasted some bread to make garlic toast. She was just setting out the plates and cutlery, when Jack joined them, looking much more like himself.

“Jack!” Rose exclaimed as she ran over to give him a hug. He picked her up and spun her around before placing her back on her feet.

“How are you, little sister?” Jack asked her with a grin.

“I'm doing just fine, Jack and you look much better than you did a couple hours ago,” she replied. “I know you said we were out of order, so you might not be able to answer this question, but have you met this version of the Doctor?” Rose asked as she took Evander's arm.

“I won't say if it was this face or not, because I know you picked up on something there from me, Rosie, but I know that this one,” Jack said with a nod towards the grey-haired Doctor, “has added Evander to the name Doctor and the other one is now Alex.” Jack shook both of their hands and grinned at them winningly. “It's been a while for me and I have no idea how far that meeting was in your future, so don't worry your pretty little head about anyone regenerating soon. It could be centuries for you guys.”

“Well, why don't we have some supper and you can tell us what you've been up to, Jack,” Alex said with a smile.

Rose ended up across the table from Jack, as her Doctors insisted on being on either side of her. They were all enjoying the meal thoroughly, when Rose decided that she needed to address the issue that had been nagging at her since before they had even found him in that basement. “Jack, why can I sense your emotions?”

Alex and Evander both dropped their forks and gaped at her. “What?!” Alex gasped out after a moment.

Jack smirked at their response. “I was wondering when you'd say something,” Jack replied. “Relax boys, it's not quite what you're thinking. Over the last few centuries, I've noticed that I'm developing some telepathic abilities. It's still kind of weak and unpredictable, but it's growing in intensity. The last time I saw all of you, there was an incident that left Rose and I with what you called a sibling bond.”

Evander frowned and furrowed his eyebrows while Alex rubbed the back of his neck and looked rather uncomfortable with the situation. They had already had some jealousy issues regarding Jack today and they weren't pleased with the prospect of their wife telepathically bonding with anyone else. Even if it was only a sibling bond. They knew that Jack would always protect Rose and they already treated each other like siblings anyway, but that wasn't the point.

“I suppose that does explain it,” Rose said looking a little surprised. She could feel that her husbands were not very happy with the idea and squeezed their hands under the table. “You probably can't tell us much about what happened then, but is there anything that we need to know about it?”

“Don't worry, Rosie, it all just kind of happens. And Doctors, I know how jealous you get about Rose. Suffice it to say that even I wouldn't do my sister and that's exactly what Rose means to me. I got the message loud and clear the first night, when you told me, 'hands off the blonde,'” Jack explained with a laugh.

“Well, I suppose that's that then,” Evander grumbled as he got up to clear away some of the empty plates. When he was done, he left the galley without another word.

Rose could feel tears rising in her eyes. She thought she might have finally made it up to Evander for the incident earlier and now it seemed worse than ever. Alex squeezed her shoulder and kissed her on the forehead before saying that he'd go after him. Rose's tears started to fall as she felt both of them closing off their connection to her a little. They couldn't cut it off completely, but they were shielding some of their feelings from her.

“Hey,” Jack said as he moved to sit next to her. “What was that all that about? And why are you crying, sweetheart?”

Rose sniffled before trying to explain the situation despite not being entirely sure what the problem was. “He's jealous, but even more, he's insecure. I really messed up earlier today. We were having the most amazing threesome sex in the console room,” Rose explained.

“Ooh! Tell me more,” Jack interrupted.

Rose smirked a little and wiped away some of her tears as she continued, “It was completely incredible, but Evander had me pressed up against the telepathic control circuits and I had this stray thought that you'd be proud of me for having hot, threesome, console sex, when the TARDIS started to take off. She must have picked up my thoughts about you and headed towards where you needed rescuing. I had to tell them what I was thinking about and they were so upset that I was thinking about another man while we were having sex. And it's all my fault...” 

Rose started breaking down into tears again and Jack put an arm over her shoulders in support. He rubbed her back for a few minutes while he thought of an appropriate response.

“Aw, Rosie. Telepathic relationships are tricky enough without having every stray thought that pops into your head making things even more complicated. And as much as either one of us tells them or tries to prove to them that our relationship is not going to get in the way of your relationship with them, this is something that they are going to have to work through themselves. The rest of your family is gone, it's alright for you to develop other family-type relationships apart from your husbands. I'll try to talk to them about it, why don't you make yourself some tea and go relax for a bit?” Jack said as he headed towards the door.

“Ok, Jack. And thank you,” Rose replied quietly and started making some chamomile tea to help calm her down.

“Oh and Rosie?” Jack said as he popped his head back in the room. “I AM proud of you for having hot, threesome, console sex!”

Rose finally laughed and he grinned before heading back down the hallway towards the console room where he was sure they would be either tinkering and brooding or arguing with each other.

As Jack approached the door that led into the console room, he could hear the two men arguing loudly.

“You can't be angry with her for having a close friend that isn't us!” Alex shouted. He could feel Rose crying and knew that she had been trying to make things better between them just before supper.

“I'm not angry with her!” Evander countered. “I'm upset, I can't help it.” He started flicking switches ineffectually again. It was his nervous activity, when he didn't know what to do with himself.

“But you're hurting her, you have to see that,” Alex said as he followed him around the console.

“Of course! I can feel it as much as you can, but I don't know what to do about it.” He said as he stopped moving and closed his eyes. “I love her more than life itself and I know that it isn't intentional, but she makes me feel so inadequate.”

“Woah, stop right there, Time Lord,” Jack said as he descended the stairs down to where they were facing off. “Having a deep relationship with three people involved is difficult. Add to that the difficulties of a telepathic bond and the fact that the society Rose was raised in had no tolerance or knowledge of those kinds of relationships at all and I think you guys have been handling all of this very well. But, Rose doesn't know how to reassure one of you without feeling like she's abandoning the other.”

“The relationship between the three of us isn't the issue here, Jack,” Evander said harshly.

“I know. Right now, the issue is me,” Jack answered in an equally harsh tone. “And you need to think about something. Rose was raised with very close ties to her family. That family was lost to her very recently and she is still coping with that. There is no question that she loves both of you very much, but there is nothing wrong with her having other friends and family. Rose is a social creature and she needs those connections.”

Jack sat on the jump seat and leaned back with his hands behind his head. “I am not a threat to your marriage, Doctor. She's my little sister and she's my friend. One of the only friends that will be able to stick around for a while. The three of you are probably the only people in the whole universe that I have a chance of seeing from time to time through this impossibly long life of mine. And I need those kinds of connections too. Consider how she feels about the fact that she made me immortal.”

“You're right, Jack,” Alex said as he moved away from the console where he had been squaring off against Evander towards their friend and put a hand on his shoulder. “About all of it. We could all use some consistent family ties and you have been an excellent friend for all three of us... brother-in-law.” Alex smirked and Evander flinched a little.

Evander was silent as he considered all of these points. The idea of a family stung a little bit as he thought about the last time he tried that. Amy, Rory and River had been an odd, make-shift family of sorts and it had all ended very painfully. But they never had a chance of lasting very long to begin with. Jack would be around for several billion years (until the events on New Earth) and Alex and Rose would be around until he died since all of their lives were now tied together. This family wouldn't be torn apart by death. Could he try again? He had already agreed to having a family by marrying them. It was just a matter of accepting Jack as a brother-in-law.

“I'm sorry,” Evander said quietly.

“Apology accepted,” Jack answered. “But I think you've got a more important apology to make. Now, Alex and I are going to catch up a bit and you are going to go makeup with your wife.”

He nodded, his shoulders sagging as he made his way deeper into the ship. He relaxed the shields he had put over his link to Rose and thought to her, ~'May I join you, Rose?'~

~'I suppose. I'm in the garden,'~ she replied.

When he arrived, he saw that she was lying under the tree where they had made their new promises and she had given them their matching bonding pendants. He sat next to her on the grass and tentatively took her hand to entwine their fingers together.

“I'm not really doing a very good job, am I?” he asked.

“Of what?” Rose kept her eyes fixed on the simulated night sky.

“Keeping my promises. Making things better, being a good man and being your devoted husband. I was lousy at all of them today,” he admitted as he rubbed the back of her hand with is thumb. “You could be perfectly happy with Alex as your husband and Jack as your brother. What am I here for? I happened to have the TARDIS, but me? I'm extraneous.”

“You're not. I thought I made that clear earlier,” Rose said as she finally looked at him. It was obvious that she had been crying. Her face was dry now, but her eyes were red and her cheeks were blotchy and pink where tears had been. “I've tried so hard to reassure you, but is this about me? Or Alex? Or Jack? Or is this really about you? I love you. I love Alex. And yes, I love Jack, as a brother. Is that wrong of me?”

“No, Rose. And I'm sorry that I made you feel that way. You have so much love and compassion to give. You're right that this is about me. I'm old and selfish and completely unworthy of you, but you are my wife and it's time that I tried a little harder to make myself a worthy husband instead of looking for reasons to be unhappy. Let's go for a walk,” he said in a change of mood as he got up from the grass and offered his hand to help her up as well.

They walked together through the garden, with an arm around each other, and he told her about some of the adventures he had during their separation after the meta-crisis. About the star whale and Vincent Van Gogh and the Christmas trees that were alive with sparkling lights and needed to be saved from acid rain. She and Alex had spent a long time talking like this on their honeymoon and Rose realized that maybe the occasional, private honeymoon time was what Evander needed with her. To feel close for a little while, without sharing. He and Alex had been the same man, they didn't need to get to know each other again.

“Maybe it would be good for all three of us, if we planned on some time spent with me and each of you, one on one? Date nights for two once in a while? Not all the time, but it might help you feel closer,” Rose suggested.

“That is a marvellous idea. And,” he took a deep breath before making this suggestion. “Why don't we ask Jack to travel with us for a little while? You need some time with your brother too.”

She stopped walking and wrapped her arms around his waist, going up on her toes for a kiss. “Thank you, Doctor. I love you,” she said with her forehead resting against his. She noticed that this was his preferred position when they were hugging. He didn't like having her head buried in his neck or shoulder, he wanted to see her face when they were close. It meant that she wasn't wrapped as tightly around him, but she accepted that this was what he liked.

~'Alex, would you join us in the garden when you have a minute?'~ Evander asked with his thoughts open to both of his spouses.

They strolled back to the tree where she had been lying earlier and sat to look at the simulated stars the TARDIS crafted for them while they waited for Alex to join them. Rose was settled between his legs with her back to his front and his arms curled around her waist. When Alex arrived, he sat down close and faced them clasping Rose's hand in his own.

“We were thinking that it would be a good idea to plan separate evenings together as couples instead of a trio. You're part of this decision too though, so what do you think?” Evander asked.

“I think that would be good. We each get one night a week? Spend the rest of the time all together?” Alex responded as he reached up to tuck a lock of Rose's hair behind her ear, stroking her cheek.

She looked down from the stars and turned to see Evander gazing at her with love in his clear blue eyes before bestowing a beaming smile on Alex. “That sounds perfect. We were also thinking of asking Jack to stick around for a while, if that's alright with you.”

“Does he get a date night too?” Alex said with a smirk.

“Well,” Rose tilted her head in thought. “It might be good for the two of you to spend some time together away from me too. I certainly wouldn't call it a date with my brother though... eww.”

They all laughed and shared a hug. For now, all was forgiven. The only thing left was to ask Jack if he'd stay for a while.


	17. A Storm is Brewing

Chapter Seventeen – A Storm is Brewing

Alex and Evander were shopping for TARDIS parts while Jack and Rose went shopping for clothes and such. Rose couldn't quite remember what planet they were on at the moment, but it didn't really matter. It had been three weeks since Jack had joined team TARDIS once again and everyone was happier since the new arrangements had been made.

The Doctors no longer argued over who got to introduce her as their wife first. They also seemed to be on a mission to outdo each other for spectacular date nights, which meant that Rose was getting spoiled. Plus, Rose was able to spend time alone with Jack without her husbands getting jealous because they all knew exactly where they stood in their relationships.

“So, where did Evander take you last night?” Jack asked with a knowing smile. He was fully aware of their competition to show Rose a better time as they had been asking him for advice on where to go.

Rose smiled as she sifted through a basket of scarves. “A picnic on Woman Wept.”

“And?” he gives her a look that says he knows there was more to it than that.

“And he took me dancing. Somewhere in the fifteenth century, I think,” Rose said and started walking down the street towards the next shop.

“So, after these date nights, do you all still go back to the same bedroom or what?” Jack couldn't help but be curious.

“It's our room, no one is ever expected to leave. The date nights are for talking and romance, not sex. We have plenty of sex all the time. Sometimes all three of us, sometimes in pairs. I don't think there's any going on without me involved though. As far as I can tell, Evander does it for me, not so much for himself. That could change when someone regenerates, who knows what kind of things might change knowing the kind of relationship we're in when it happens,” Rose said with a wink.

Jack just smiled back and said, “Spoilers!” They both laughed and kept shopping. He picked up a few items and held them out next to her before tossing one of the dresses into her arms, nodding towards the dressing rooms.

“You've been spending a lot of time in the library lately,” Jack said loudly enough for her to hear him through the change room door.

“I've been studying,” Rose replied and stepped out to look at the dress she was trying on in the mirror and get Jack's opinion. “Thought I'd continue with some of the subjects that I started learning in the parallel universe and maybe finish a degree or two through correspondence. I'm not about to stop travelling long enough to actually attend classes or anything, but we have enough books in the library that I can manage.” She twirled a bit to see how the dress would move when she was running for her life.

“That's great, Rosie. They must be proud of you for that. That dress looks hot, by the way. You should totally get it.”

Rose turned back and forth in front of the mirror once more before nodding and heading back into the change room. “We should probably head back towards that restaurant where we said we'd meet after this. It's almost lunch time,” Rose said loudly through the door.

“Not a problem, sis,” Jack answered as he stood up from the chair where he had been waiting for her and looked out the front windows of the shop. The sky had turned cloudy while they were inside. “Looks like it might rain. I don't suppose you have an umbrella in those bigger-on-the-inside pockets of yours?”

“I might actually, I'll check on the way.”

**************************************************

“I can't believe you beat me to taking her back to Woman Wept,” Alex sulked.

“Well, after you took her to see all of the openings of the Harry Potter movies in one go, I had to think of something. These kinds of ideas don't come easily to me in this regeneration, you know,” Evander defended as he tossed aside some broken parts that the owner of the shop probably couldn't even identify.

“I know, our eighth incarnation probably would have been brilliant at coming up with these sorts of things. Was your last one any better? You took River out and stuff, right?” he asked and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Alex had given up on finding anything useful in this shop fairly quickly. 

They didn't even need to shop for parts anymore. Evander's last self had managed to grow the rare tree inside the TARDIS that would produce any parts they needed. It would have been extremely helpful after the war, but the TARDIS had taken too much damage to be able to grow one for at least a century and he hadn't needed it before the war. They were only shopping for parts as something to do while Rose spent time on what she called 'retail therapy' with Jack.

“I suppose I was better at it before. I'm certainly not going to take Rose to all the same places I took River, though. For one thing, I'm not going to risk that run-in and I'm pretty sure that I heard somewhere that it was inappropriate to do that,” Evander said uncertainly as he scanned his memory for where someone said something about that. 

Shaking off the thought, he nodded to Alex and they left the shop, walking back down the street towards where they had agreed to rendezvous. The sky had darkened considerably in the last hour and some niggling thought in the back of their minds told them that it shouldn't be.

They strolled down the streets of the marketplace on the (now found) moon of Poosh, and noticed the people around them were starting to look nervous, several of them pointing towards the sky. The Doctors didn't see anything odd in the sky, it was just cloudy. 

“Wait a minute,” Evander said as he remembered something important. “After they found the moon, they set up an environmental dome over all the inhabited areas. The weather here is controlled.”

“Then why is it cloudy?” Alex asked rhetorically.

~'Rose, love, where are you? Something is wrong here.'~ Alex thought to her.

~'We're on our way back to.... what the hell is that?!'~ both Doctors could hear her and felt her sudden shock at whatever she was seeing.

~'Show me,'~ they thought to her at the same instant.

Rose sent them the image of what she was seeing in the sky from her viewpoint and they both turned to find it from where they were. There was a swirling maelstrom of dark clouds in the direction the Doctors had come from and there were large arcs of lightning splitting the sky near the disturbance.

~'We should meet up near the TARDIS so we can use her sensors on whatever that is,'~ Alex told them. He felt their agreement and everyone started moving quickly towards their time ship. They didn't run, as they were hoping to avoid sparking panic in the crowd that was already on the verge of it. But people could get seriously hurt if they started running and pushing like a mob.

By the time the Doctors arrived at the TARDIS, Rose and Jack were already there and Rose was trying to get some kind of readings with her sonic, but it didn't have the range needed.

Evander opened the doors with a snap of his fingers and they all ran inside to see what information they could get.

The Doctors ran straight to the monitor and started typing in commands. Rose and Jack watched over their shoulders. Jack ended up pacing, looking nervously at their faces for signs that he should start worrying, since he couldn't read the swirls of Gallifreyan on the screen.

“Something has cracked the containment dome,” Alex observed.

“And whoever it is, is pumping some kind of alternative atmosphere inside. That is what those dark clouds were. It's creating a huge disturbance as well as replacing the air,” Evander added.

“Do you recognize the gases?” Rose asked. “Can you tell what aliens would want that mix in their atmosphere?”

“It's definitely toxic to everyone here. We have to solve this fast or everyone out there is going to choke to death. Why does that seem familiar?” Alex asked as he began to ramble, a sure sign that he was starting to feel the pressure of the situation. Rose squeezed his shoulder to help calm him a little as they worked this out. He placed his hand over hers for a moment in thanks.

“Familiar? Have we seen this before?” Evander asked with lowered eyebrows and a scowl on his face that indicated his mind was swirling with thoughts and connections in a way that only a Time Lord's could.

“Well, do you keep like a database or something in the computer to reference things you've encountered in the past?” Rose asked.

Both Doctors looked at her like she had grown a second head for a moment. “Why would I need to do that? My memory is perfect,” Evander insisted.

Rose crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at that. He had already admitted to her that the memories of meeting her in his earliest incarnations were fuzzy due to the amount of time that had passed for him. Even with an incredible brain like his, two thousand years was a very long time to remember everything.

“Alright, alright... it would be a good idea, but no, right now there is NOT a database of every deadly mix of gases or chemicals that I've ever run into and what aliens were associated with them,” Alex said quickly to halt this argument. They didn't have time for that, they needed to focus. “So, me being the younger of us and closer to the early memories, give me a minute.”

Alex closed his eyes as his face showed his intense concentration. He thought back to the various instances of toxic gases that he had encountered and thought about why this particular mix seemed familiar. Sontarans? Nope, not them. This didn't match the atmosphere they had tried to create on earth with the ATMOS systems. Exhaust? Why was the idea of exhaust sticking for some reason? Hang on, hang on.... cars... motorway... OH!! 

“Macra!!” Alex yelled, making Rose and Jack jump a bit and Evander looked up sharply at him.

“The exhaust in the motorway on New Earth is what reminded me, but we didn't evaluate that... the reason this looks familiar is that we DID get a full analysis in our second incarnation. That colony that had been taken over by the Macra. THAT is what this gas looks like!” Alex said excitedly. He jumped around the console to type in a few more commands.

“Ok, we now have a scan coming up of the ship in orbit. It's definitely big, which fits the theory of Macra, those things were huge,” Evander announced to the room as he too, called up the memory of the colony he had visited so long ago with Jamie, Ben and Polly. “The gas is being pumped in through the crack they've made in the dome, but I wonder if we could do something with the environmental control systems in place here to push it back out again or filter it away somehow.”

“We also need to stop them from continuing this attack,” Rose added. “Should we split up? Two of us work on the systems down here while two go up to their ship and try to stop it from there?”

Rose could feel their apprehension at either of them separating from her in the middle of an invasion, but she knew they couldn't argue her logic. She watched as they looked at each other, trying to make a decision.

~'You know she's right,'~ Evander said privately to Alex.

~'Doesn't mean I have to like it,'~ Alex replied.

~'You take Jack and the TARDIS up to the ship. There are masks in the compartments below, we should probably take a couple of them too in case the atmosphere gets bad down here,'~ Evander said, making the executive decision on teams.

Alex narrowed his eyes at Evander for a moment. He knew there were several logical reasons for the particular split that he suggested, but he didn't want to be away from Rose. ~'Fine. Get what you need and I'll show Rose how to download a map of the city into her sonic.'~

Evander headed down the stairs to the area below the main console room to find masks for everyone. And Alex began searching the local computers for a map of the city.

“Rose, love, could you bring your sonic over here? I'm going to get you a map of the area. You and Evander will go to the atmospheric control centre to find a way to clear the toxic atmosphere down here. Jack and I will take the TARDIS and try to stop the Macra from up on their ship,” Alex rambled quickly while fiddling with Rose's sonic. It was obvious that he was not completely happy with the plan.

Evander ran back up to the main room, masks in hand. He left two of them on top of the console as he handed one to Rose and placed another inside one of his trans-dimensional pockets. “You are brilliant with electronics, darling. I'm sure between the two of us, we'll get this part sorted in no time,” he said as he took her arm and they ran for the doors.

“Stay safe you two!” Rose shouted back at Alex and Jack before closing the doors behind them. She heard the TARDIS dematerialize behind them and gripped Evander's hand tightly. She called up the city map on her sonic and showed it to him as she tried to figure out exactly where they were in relation to it. “This way!” she announced once she was oriented correctly.

Rose pulled the Doctor through the streets with her towards the atmospheric control centre and he ran awkwardly after her. He inwardly fumed at the awkwardness. What was his problem? He used to run with her hand-in-hand all the time. Why is this incarnation not as comfortable with that arrangement as he once was? Perhaps it went along with 'the hugging thing.' But he had found a way around 'the hugging thing' with Rose. It occurred to him then that it hadn't really been an issue in the adventures they'd had since her return. They had either walked with their arms linked, or she'd run while Alex pulled her along and he took up the rear, just in case. Maybe he needed to find a comfortable way around this too. For now, he let her tug him ungracefully toward their goal.

They reached the ominous looking building fairly quickly and ran up the steps only to be stopped by security before they could enter. The Doctor flashed his psychic paper and immediately began his usual explanations. “We have been sent to repair the obvious malfunction in the control systems,” he said gesturing towards the churning clouds in the sky. “We are specialists and it's quite lucky that we were here, so we'll just be off to the control room then. Which is located on which floor again?”

The security guard looked mildly panicked and dazed by the quick explanation, but managed to sputter a response, “Uh, ... floor thirteen, sir.”

“Lucky! Thanks for that,” Rose told him as they burst through the doors towards the lifts on the far side of the lobby. Rose jabbed at the button to summon the lift and paced back and forth to expend some of the energy that the adrenaline of the situation had released. It never ceased to amaze her how she wasn't exhausted from a long run now that she was a Time Lady. She still would have been fighting to catch her breath after sprinting through the city at this point if she were still human.

There was a small chime as the doors opened and the Doctor guided her into the lift with one hand on her back. He pressed the button for the thirteenth floor and used his sonic on the panel to try and speed it along. Rose looked at his sonic and considered how the styling really didn't suit him. He had told her that his last incarnation had made this one and had quite liked flicking it around at the time. Now, he was just, sort of, used to it.

As the lift chimed their arrival and the doors finally opened, Rose and Evander dashed straight into a room filled with computer screens showing the various areas of the dome and images of the atmosphere in different colours to indicate changes in temperature and composition. There was only one technician in the room and he was obviously in a panic to figure out what to do in this emergency. Rose approached him while Evander went to work on the computer systems, flicking various lighted switches as he dashed from one panel to another.

“We're here to help. We're specialists, alright,” Rose said as she put a hand on his shoulder to calm him a bit. “I'm Rose and this is the Doctor. What's your name?”

“Rutherford... Jake Rutherford,” he answered shakily.

“Ok, Jake. Don't you worry about a thing because the Doctor and I fix stuff like this all the time,” Rose reassured him and went to her husband's side to see how she could help.

Jake looked at them warily, but he had no idea what to do and decided that these strangers couldn't make it any worse; he hoped. He slumped into a nearby rolling chair and tried to gather his scattered wits.

Evander set Rose to the task of boosting the fan outputs while he reprogrammed the systems. It would take a while, perhaps longer than the air would be safely breathable.

“You!” he shouted, pointing at the technician that he couldn't remember the name of, “Head-In-The-Clouds, can you get a message out to the people in the city to go inside and block their doors and windows; keep the freshest air possible around them? It won't be safe outside by the time we can fix this,” he said with his usual authority.

Jake nodded mutely and ran off, presumably towards some sort of communications area. Evander went back to work and Rose smiled at his gruff demeanour. This incarnation was even more rude than her 'rude and not ginger' Doctor. She wondered about his last incarnation. Never having met that version, Rose had no idea if he was rude or sweet or compassionate. Judging from the photos and some of the memories he had shared with her, she thought he seemed a bit silly and scattered perhaps. Maybe one day, she might meet him too. 

Rose shook off those thoughts and focused back on her task of increasing the output from the fans that supplied the fresh air to the system so that they could clear the contaminants as quickly as possible.


	18. Holy Macra!

Chapter Eighteen – Holy Macra!

“She'll be fine, Doctor,” Jack said to Alex. He could see the tension in Alex's shoulders as she left the TARDIS.

“I know. He won't let anything happen to her and down there is far safer than where we're going,” he replied. “Now, take one of these masks. Their whole ship is going to be flooded with toxic gas and this will give you breathable air. Macra are very strong and very dangerous, but they don't see very well, so we should be able to sneak our way through the ship and disable either the system pumping gas into the dome or knock out the whole ship if we have to.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jack replied as he attached the respirator over his nose and mouth. “Not my best look, but I'm not very helpful when I'm repeatedly choking to death.”

“Too right,” the Doctor said as he affixed his own mask and headed for the door.

When they left the TARDIS and entered the Macra space ship, they found themselves in a corridor filled with a thick, white fog. The Doctor looked at Jack and without saying a word, they both nodded and Jack moved to follow more closely than usual. The Doctor had his sonic screwdriver out immediately to figure out which direction would take them to the engine room.

They quickly discovered that movement seemed to catch the attention of the imposing aliens and froze whenever they were in sight. This slowed them down considerably, but they eventually found the engine room and slipped into an auxiliary control room that seemed to be empty. 

The panels and switches were enormous and difficult for the Doctor to reach. He studied the screens and switch labels carefully before planning his moves because considering their size and strength, every control he moved was likely to take a significant effort.

When he was relatively sure that he had found the right switches to shut off the required system, he decided that he'd have to climb on top of the control panel to get to them.

“Jack, I need you to boost me up,” Alex whispered through the respirator mask.

Jack interlaced his fingers and held his hands out for Alex to step up onto the panel. Just as he was crawling up to steady himself, he felt some 'help' pushing him from behind. He shot a glare back over his shoulder at Jack, who smiled innocently. “Only trying to help!” Jack said with a smirk.

“Yeah, you can keep that kind of help to yourself, thanks. I don't think your SISTER would appreciate you feeling up her husband,” Alex replied.

“Can I help it if I want to check that she isn't exaggerating in her descriptions?” Jack asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“Desc...” Alex sputtered with wide eyes. “No! No, no, no... I don't want to even hear it.”

Shaking off all thoughts of what his wife was sharing with Jack about their sex life, he rushed over to the required switches and wrestled them into their new positions. They heard a shift in the hum of the engines before an alarm started to sound and several lights started flashing on the screens and controls. Alex used his sonic to short out the systems he had just shut down and stumbled over several other switches on his way to shut down some security protocols as well.

The door to the room they were in sealed shut and Jack looked towards the Doctor nervously.

“That was me,” Alex told him reassuringly. “Locked us in here for now while I try to lock them out of the controls.”

“What can I do, Doctor?” Jack asked, looking nervously between the large doors and the even larger panel of controls with far too many dangerously flashing lights.

“Climb up here and watch these screens for me,” the Doctor said as he reached down to help him up. “If these levels here go into the orange section move this slider down, or if that system controlling the gas starts up at all, let me know. I'm trying to shut down their engines and navigation so that they can't move before we can get the authorities here.”

“And which authorities would those be?” Jack asked as he adjusted one of the controls Alex had shown him.

“The government here doesn't have a military force strong enough to hold them back, but all of the moons in this system fall under the protection of the Shadow Proclamation. If we can get word to them, they should be able to get a force here fairly quickly,” he said as he pushed his feet against one of the screens to shove another large switch he had braced against his shoulder. Why did the Macra have to be so big anyway?

~'I think I have things mostly shut down here for now,'~ Alex thought to his spouses. ~'When you have a minute, do you think you could get in touch with the Shadow Proclamation? Not sure I want to unlock the door before there's some help on the other side.'~

~'Just as soon as we get these fans running,'~ Evander replied.

~'Don't worry, I'm done with this part. I'll go find our friend that was here earlier to get communications going,'~ Rose added. ~'Please be careful up there!'~

~'We're fine, love. As long as I can keep Jack's hands off of my backside!'~ Alex replied, trying to lighten the mood a little.

~'Tell him those goods are taken, thank you!'~ Rose told him with a mental caress.

“Right!” Alex said as he jumped up from wrestling with switches. “I've just spoken to the other two. They are working on getting the air cleared down there and Rose is going to find someone official to set up communications with the Shadow Proclamation. Until then, we just need to hold down the fort and keep them from doing anything nasty. Oh, and stay alive... that would be helpful too. Incidentally, Rose says that my goods are taken, so hands off,” he added with a wink.

“How in the world you managed to get enough air for that ramble while breathing through these stupid things is beyond me,” Jack said as he shook his head.

They kept a careful watch on the screens in front of them for any sign that the Macra were reversing their efforts, but everything stayed ominously static. It also seemed like the Macra hadn't discovered their location yet. They should have been able to scan for intruders, but there were no obvious attempts to open the door.

“Does all this seem a little too easy?” Alex asked Jack after 22 minutes of inactivity. “They can't be so stupid as to not know what we've done or be able to find us. This is boring,” Alex added, frustratedly jumping off of the control panel to the floor.

“Ugh! You had to go and say that, didn't you?” Jack asked and threw his hands into the air. “It wasn't hard enough getting this far that you want to ask for more trouble now that it's fixed?”

Alex had landed on the floor in a crouch and hadn't moved since. Jack watched his back as his shoulders tensed and he started to tremble slightly.

“Doctor? What is it, what's wrong?” Jack questioned nervously.

“C-can't ... fff... fffloor,” he forced out in a choked stutter.

Jack glanced between the Time Lord and the floor as he came to a terrifying realization. The Macra WERE trying to do something to them this whole time. Based on Alex's reactions, he guessed that they had electrified the floor. That would freeze all of his muscles from moving since electrical impulses were what controlled them. He was likely only alive now because of his superior biology. But how the hell was Jack going to help him?

“Oh my god! What do I do, Doctor? I don't know what to do!” Jack exclaimed as he started tugging on his hair in frustration of his brain not coming up with a solution fast enough.

“T-t-t-teleport,” Alex finally spit out with obvious strain.

“Right!” Jack agreed as his brain latched onto what Alex was suggesting. He immediately used his vortex manipulator to lock onto the TARDIS and hopefully materialize them inside it. Then, braced himself for what would likely be painful and difficult. He leapt off of the console to land on top of Alex and as he wrapped his arms tightly around him, grabbed the manipulator tightly so that his spasming muscles would make him push the button.

In a flash of blinding light, they both collapsed onto the floor of the TARDIS console room. Gasping for air, Jack ripped the respirator mask off of his face, then reached over to do the same for Alex. The Doctor's breathing was fast and shallow as he tried to shake off the electrocution that would definitely have killed Jack, had he experienced it for longer than the second that it took to get them out of there. 

Alex could feel the panicked concern that was coming from his spouses, but he couldn't quite focus on the questions they were asking. He couldn't even quite focus on what Jack was saying right next to him. Was Jack saying something? Then everything went black.

Jack was definitely out of his depth now. He had an unconscious Doctor lying on the floor of the TARDIS and he could feel how upset Rose was about THAT situation, but he had no way of contacting Rose and Evander, and he definitely couldn't fly the TARDIS himself. He had helped fly it several times, but never solo and usually with significant direction.

He had his vortex manipulator though and Alex would be safe inside the TARDIS. He quickly used the manipulator to scan for Time Lord bio-signs on the planet below and locked onto them. With a flash of light and a few gasping breaths, Jack suddenly found himself in the trembling arms of Rose.

“What happened?! Where's Alex?” she asked as she pulled back to see Jack's face. She was obviously terrified for her husband.

“He's on the TARDIS where it's safe, but I couldn't fly it. So, I came to get one of you,” Jack explained hurriedly.

Rose grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind her as she ran back to where she left Evander. Jack stumbled after her, still a little shaken from the shock he had received in his rescue and having teleported twice quite recently. It did still take a moment to reorient himself after that, even though he'd been doing it for centuries.

When Evander saw the two of them enter the room, he immediately went into interrogation mode. “What happened? Where's Alex? Why is he unconscious?” he asked as he clenched his fists and glared at Jack menacingly.

“Ok, both of you, calm down,” Jack said as he met the eyes of each of his friends. “We were standing on top of the control panel because they were really big. It was the only way to reach everything. Alex had shut everything down and we were just waiting for it all to be over. He got bored and I guess, decided that he needed to move around a bit, so he jumped down onto the floor, but they'd done something to it. He couldn't move; could barely force himself to talk. So I set my vortex manipulator to get us to the TARDIS and jumped on top of him to get us out of there. He's in the TARDIS right now, but he passed out almost as soon as we got there.”

Evander quickly turned to Rose; she could handle this crisis while he took care of Alex. “Darling, I need to go make sure that he's alright. The program is already running on the environmental controls and you are more than capable of explaining things to the Shadow Proclamation if they need help with it. Jack, I'll need you on the TARDIS to monitor that the Macra don't get their systems back up and running,” he explained as he held her hands tightly, running his thumbs back and forth across her soft skin in an effort to calm himself as well as Rose.

Rose nervously nodded in agreement with the Doctor's decisions on how to handle this, but she desperately wanted to be with them. It made sense for Evander to be the one to go. She would never know what needed to be done to help Alex and she still couldn't fly the TARDIS solo. She could, however, handle this planet's crisis on her own, as long as she could manage to keep her head in the game. She wrapped her arms around Evander's neck and kissed him passionately before pressing her forehead to his and silently wrapping them both in a blanket of love and confidence.

Jack had already set his manipulator to return from where he had just left. Rose nodded to each of them as the Doctor placed his hand on the vortex manipulator and in a flash, they were gone. Rose allowed herself a moment and crumpled into a nearby chair, letting her tears fall. Her worry for Alex was almost overwhelming.

She could feel Evander sending her some reassurance through their bond, but he was focussed on what he needed to do, and reassurance wasn't exactly this incarnation's strong suit. She was used to being the one that needed rescuing. She was sure of herself and her own capabilities, but the last time that she had needed to rescue him had been in an alternate universe where he had died.

Rose took a deep breath to calm herself. Alex would be fine. Evander and the TARDIS were looking after him. She had a job to do, and he would be fine. She wiped the tears from her face, took another breath to centre her thoughts, and after a quick glance at the environmental systems, walked back towards the communications room with all the confidence she could muster.

************************

The instant they materialized inside the console room, Evander dove to Alex's side. He quickly checked his pulse and breathing before doing anything else. Jumping back to his feet with an agility unexpected from his physical appearance, he ran to the monitor and set up a scan of the Macra ship's systems. They couldn't control them from here, but they could see what was active.

“Jack, watch these systems here. If any of them come back online, come and get me from the medbay,” Evander ordered, then ran to pick up Alex's limp form from the floor and carried him deeper into the ship.

The TARDIS moved the medbay as close as she could to the console room and Evander sent her silent thanks as he placed Alex on the nearest bed. He rushed back to the cabinets to retrieve a scanner and tried to concentrate on taking care of Alex. Rose was more than capable to handle the other situation without him.

There didn't seem to be a lot of damage. Some minor burns on his left hand and his feet, but that seemed to be all that was wrong on the surface. Leaving that to take care of later, he moved his attention to why Alex was unconscious. Alex had touched the floor, then he couldn't move and had burns on his skin. Probably electrocuted, then. He could withstand quite a strong shock. He had once survived a lightning strike on top of the Empire State building. But this wasn't just a shock; this was sustained.

Alex's hearts were both beating, but they were a little erratic and his brain activity was odd as well. Alex wasn't in a healing coma as he should be after something like this and Evander decided that he needed to help him get there. Placing his fingers on Alex's temples, he dove into his mind and found chaos.


	19. Brainstorm

Chapter Nineteen – Brainstorm

The electrical impulses in Alex's brain were firing rapidly but without purpose. If Evander couldn't find him in here soon, they might lose his mind forever. Memories that they both shared were flashing all around him as he fought his way through to the centre of Alex's consciousness. He found him curled up in a ball and trembling as images from the Time War raged around them both.

Evander grasped his shoulders and pulled him up to a sitting position. Alex looked at him confusedly and asked, “Who are you? Where am I?”

Feeling an intense stab of worry over the state of Alex's mind, Evander focused on getting them out of here first. “Doctor, I need you to focus for a moment. We are in your mind and only you can stop all of this chaos. Pull your thoughts together and get your mental shields back in place,” Evander said as calmly as he could manage.

Alex closed his eyes and his brow furrowed in concentration. The memories around them quieted and settled back into the spaces that usually contained them. Once everything was calm once again, Evander eased himself out of Alex's mind.

They opened their eyes at the same time and Alex looked around the room in confusion. “This is the TARDIS, but who are you? What's going on? Have I regenerated again? I hadn't even got used to the last one,” Alex said as he looked down at himself. He spotted a mirror on the far side of the room and jumped off the bed towards it. “The face is a bit pretty... and the accent? I was starting to like the last one.”

Evander's eyes grew wide in shock. Regenerated? He didn't remember even looking like that? How much had he forgotten? “Doctor, I can explain everything, but you seem to have lost a significant amount of your memories,” Evander said as he contemplated all of the possible ways of going about explaining this which depended greatly on just how much of his memory was missing.

“Have I? That can happen sometimes after regeneration, a bit manic at times. Once, I almost tried to strangle my friend Peri right after,” Alex said as he examined his face in the mirror and ran his fingers along his side burns.

“You haven't regenerated recently, Doctor,” Evander told him, leaning against the bed Alex had just occupied and crossing his arms. “There was an accident. To know just how much exactly is missing, I need you to tell me the last thing that you remember clearly.”

“Hmmm, well....” Alex closed his eyes as he concentrated on his memories. “There was a signal on Earth, 2005. Defeated the Nestene Consciousness with a rather helpful young lady. I asked her to come with me and she said, 'no.' Then, I went to watch the JFK assassination.... gets a bit fuzzy after that,” he said as he scowled in concentration. “What? Why do you feel like a Time Lord? I looked; they're all gone.”

Sending his thoughts only to Rose, Evander decided that she needed to know what was happening. ~'Darling, Alex is physically fine, but he seems to have lost a significant amount of his memories.'~

~'What? Oh my god! How much has he forgotten?'~ Rose asked as she began to panic.

Evander watched Alex's eyes grow wider as he felt the bond between all of them. He wasn't hearing their conversation, but he could definitely feel the shifts in their moods.

~'The last he remembers of you is when you said, 'no' and before I... well, WE went back to say that, 'it also travels in time.' So we have a bit of a problem with him not recognizing any of us right now.'~ Evander informed her.

“What is going on? Why can I feel you ... and someone else? Who are you, and who is ...she?” Alex asked incredulously as he began pacing around the medbay. At least that behaviour fit more with his current incarnation than the way he had been behaving which was closer to his leather-clad self.

“The fact that you can feel both of us this way, should make our relationship fairly self explanatory. Now, before we go any further with trying to recover your memories, I think we need to pick up our wife. She is currently wrapping up our rescue of a colony from an invasion of Macra,” Evander said brusquely as he left the medbay towards the console room, knowing that Alex would follow at least to find out what was happening on his TARDIS.

“How much am I missing?” Alex asked as he chased Evander down a hallway that he found frighteningly unfamiliar.

“Oh, about seven or eight years, I'd say,” Evander told him as they entered the console room.

Alex gaped at him as he followed down the stairs towards the console.

“Oh thank god! I'm so glad you're alright!” Jack said as he ran toward Alex for a hug.

“Stop! Jack, before you say anything more to him, we have a problem. The Doctor has lost several years of his memories. At this point, he does not remember me, our wife or even you. So, I'm going to pick up our lovely wife and get us back into the vortex. Then, you are going to keep yourself busy while we work on unlocking those very important years for him,” Evander explained as he piloted the TARDIS to Rose's location. He knew Jack would comply and dismissed the pain that he could see cross his face at being brushed aside so harshly.

As soon as the TARDIS materialized with a thud, the door flew open and Rose ran inside. She immediately threw her arms around Evander's neck and buried her face in the lapels of his jacket. “What are we going to do?” Rose asked with tears pooling in her eyes.

“Don't worry, darling, we CAN fix this, I promise. But before we go, is everything under control with the toxic gases and the Macra?” Evander asked.

“The Shadow Proclamation has been contacted and are on their way. So long as the Macra ship doesn't get their engines back online before they get here, there shouldn't be a problem,” Rose replied and wiped away the few tears that had managed to escape.

Alex was watching everyone cautiously. He could feel the TARDIS encouraging him to trust them, and the worry coming from the two that seemed to be his spouses was genuine. He wasn't sure who this Jack person was, but he acted as if they were friends. He would have thought it was all an elaborate trick except that he trusted his TARDIS and she was quite adamant that it was not.

“Excellent. We'll leave them to it, then.” Evander moved the TARDIS into the time vortex, where she could float happily for some time. Taking Rose's arm, he suggested, “Why don't we go to the garden? We seem to have our most important conversations there.”

“Alright,” Alex agreed hesitantly, but allowed Rose to take his hand and he couldn't help but notice how perfectly her hand fit in his. He could feel love and encouragement from them as he allowed himself to be led out of the room.

Jack sighed heavily when they left the console room and decided to spend some time in the library while he waited for them to work out how to solve this new problem. He was glad that Alex was alright, but knew that Rose would be devastated if he couldn't remember their life together. Rubbing a hand down his face, Jack headed off towards the library.

*****************************************

The trio settled together under their favourite tree in the garden room and Rose sent her thanks to the TARDIS when she materialized a full tea service next to them. Rose poured tea for each of them while leaving the explanations to Evander.

Evander clasped his hands together and looked towards the simulated sky as he considered how best to go about this. “You said the last things you remember clearly are Rose refusing to come with you and going to watch the JFK assassination, yes?” he asked finally.

“Yes, that's right. How exactly do you plan to help me from that point? I was by myself,” Alex asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. The contrast was strange, the mannerisms seemed almost stuck in the incarnation he remembered, but his appearance and accent matched his current body.

“I know you were. This is going to sound completely mad, but we are both the Doctor. Not from different points in our timeline; there are now two of us. So, up to a certain point, we share the same memories,” Evander told him fully expecting the doubt that crossed Alex's face.

“That's... how is that even possible? Although, I suppose it explains how you managed to pilot my TARDIS so well,” Alex responded.

“Ours, but let's get back to that part later. I'm sure you can imagine that it is rather complicated,” Evander said with a sigh.

“Would it be better to talk about what happened or show him the lost memories?” Rose asked as she sipped her tea. “I knew you went to the JFK thing, the Titanic and Krakatoa, but I never learned the details. I thought it was before you met me.”

“You knew about that? How did you find that out?” Evander asked and savoured his own cup of tea while taking a biscuit from the plate as well.

“After you said to forget you and took off, I did some research and found this guy online who had a whole bunch of pictures and stuff. Funny how when I found out about it, you hadn't even done it yet,” Rose told them.

Alex looked at her strangely. “What do you mean by that?”

“Umm, well... that explanation is even more confusing than there being two of you. Maybe we should hold back on that for now?” Rose asked, nervously looking at Evander.

“Definitely, let's start with me sharing everything from the point where Rose turned you down,” Evander said decisively.

They all closed their eyes as Evander shared the memories with both of them from the moment he closed the door on the Powell Estate. Stomping over to the console, he felt a little morbid while thinking about how that innocent young girl could want to come with a monster like him. He piloted the TARDIS off towards the day John F Kennedy was killed. It was a fixed point, so there wasn't anything that he could do to stop it, but he could satisfy is curiosity and solve the mystery behind it anyway. That particular memory was a bit gruesome, but not particularly exciting and that suited his mood perfectly.

Afterwards, he went to the Titanic. He managed to convince one family to wait for another ship and used one of their tickets to get on board himself. He wasn't sure why he was doing it, this was another fixed point in time. The Titanic HAD to sink and he went and left the TARDIS back on the dock. How exactly did he plan to avoid drowning or freezing to death when the ship went down? It occurred to him as he clung to the side of the iceberg that he didn't seem to care if he survived or not. Of course he was emotionally damaged from the war, but suicidal?

He hopped into one of the rescue boats when they came, thanking his superior biology that he didn't actually freeze to death. When he finally got back to the TARDIS, his thoughts seemed to be spiralling in an even more suicidal direction. After all, he had just killed two entire races. He didn't really deserve to live now, did he? How had he survived the war anyway? 

With those dark thoughts, he spun the TARDIS towards Krakatoa in 1883. He couldn't survive a volcano blast; wouldn't even regenerate. Maybe he could get a few people out of there before it happened at the same time. In the end, his instincts for self-preservation won out. The memories blacked out when he crawled back into the TARDIS choking on smoke and ash.

When he regained consciousness, the Doctor lay on his back in the console room for some time. Staring at the large, sloped ceiling, he contemplated exactly where he went wrong. There was a time after the war where he didn't feel like he deserved to die. It was when he was with that girl, Rose. But she had said, 'no.' And he never asked twice. Just then, it occurred to him that he had forgotten to tell her the most important part. He had to go back!

Jumping up from the metal grating on the floor, the Doctor ran to his room to wash all of the volcanic ash off of himself and change back into the clothes he was wearing when he last saw her. Making sure that the TARDIS was aimed for one minute after he left. For once, the old girl agreed wholeheartedly with his plan and landed him exactly where he wanted. He ran for the doors as soon as they materialized. Opening the door quickly and seeing her turn back to him in surprise, he asked Rose his very important question before she could walk further down the alley, “Did I mention, it also travels in time?” The memory faded as Rose ran into the TARDIS without further hesitation.

The trio in the garden opened their eyes at the same time. Rose contemplated just how hurt he had been after she had refused him the first time. She didn't know just how broken he was then; he hadn't told her about the war until their trip to the end of the world.

They had finished their tea, so Rose collected all the cups and placed them back on the tea tray. She then snuggled into Evander's side. He rolled his eyes before allowing her to wrap his arm around her shoulders. He would hug her and dance with her in certain circumstances, but he still didn't enjoy the snuggling. He realized though, that this would be a time when she would normally snuggle with Alex, but couldn't right now. He needed to remedy that.

“Ok, I'm not sure exactly what memory will somehow unlock all of it in your mind, but it would probably be best to go at this chronologically. Hopefully, at some point, your memories will jostle back into place and the rest will come to you,” Evander said as he gently stroked Rose's hair.

“And if they don't?” Alex asked skeptically watching the awkward but sincere affection.

“Then we will share all of our memories and that will have to do for now,” he replied sharply. “Let's keep going.” Turning to Rose, Evander's eyes softened when she looked up at him. “Do you want to share in all of this, darling? You don't have to until I get to the separation.”

“If you don't want me to see it, you don't have to show me, love. But I certainly don't mind seeing it all from your perspective,” Rose answered with a wink.

“Cheeky,” Evander said and tweaked her nose playfully. “I won't keep it from you, if you want to see.”

Evander once again began to share his memories with Alex and Rose. Their trip to the end of the world, meeting Charles Dickens and coming home a year late. Memories of a spaceship crashing into Big Ben followed by all the trouble they had with the Slitheen. Things took an even darker turn as he shared the memories of meeting a Dalek in an underground museum in Utah. Their first trip to Satellite Five was actually quite fun by comparison to the trauma that came when she tried to save her father. Then came their trip to the Blitz and meeting Jack. The memories then, became quite light hearted. They went to Woman Wept as well as some other fun places with their new friend. The memories of stopping the last of the Slitheen on Earth were followed by their trip to Kyoto before the really frightening things began.

Not wanting to put off getting through these memories, Evander pushed on through sharing his memories of the Game Station. Watching Rose shot by the Anne-Droid and then, finding out that she was still alive, but trapped on a Dalek ship. He almost started crying just remembering the time that he tricked her into the TARDIS to send her home to safety. Then came his memories of Rose returning as the Bad Wolf, destroying all of the Daleks, and bringing Jack back to life before he took the vortex from her and regenerated.

“Stop! Please, stop for a minute,” Rose pleaded. As the Doctors opened their eyes, they found that she was crying. “Oh, Doctor. I never knew how much it hurt you to send me away.”

“What?” Alex gasped. “What do you mean, sent YOU away?”

“I'm...” she choked on her tears for a moment before continuing, “I'm Rose.”

“But...” he stuttered as he looked at her in confused shock.

“As we said, that part is even more complicated than there being two Doctors,” Evander replied and turned to face his wife. He placed his forehead against hers and held her tightly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and sniffled. “It's alright, darling. It's long since over now. Are you sure you want me to share all the memories with you? The pain after Canary Wharf was far worse than that. You don't have to watch.”

“No, I want to. If you have to relive all of this anyway, then I want to know too,” Rose said as she took a deep settling breath.

“If you're sure, my love,” Evander said as he released her from his embrace and looked into her eyes.

Rose nodded and wiped the tears from her face. Alex looked at her curiously through this exchange. How could this woman be Rose Tyler? None of this was making any sense. His own memories hadn't quite unlocked yet, so despite the detailed recollections that he was receiving, Alex didn't feel like he had lived all of this himself. It was obvious from the memories though, if they really were his own memories, that he had fallen in love with Rose. He gave his life to save her when she seemed willing to give her one and only human life for him.

“I don't remember much of that Christmas with the Sycorax, Rose. Perhaps it would be best if you shared this one?” Evander asked.

“Alright, I can do that,” Rose replied.

Alex smiled as he felt the lovely golden presence of her mind preparing to share her memories with them both. She began with her memories of his regeneration as he tried to convince her that he was still the Doctor. She shared her fear and uncertainty when things started to go wrong. He crashed the TARDIS and then was unconscious while the earth was invaded. She and Mickey were chased by robotic Santas and attacked by killer Christmas trees. 

When people were standing on rooftops and there was a giant spaceship in the sky, she had retreated with the still sleeping Doctor and Mickey into the TARDIS. Rose shared her memories of confronting the Sycorax herself until he awoke and started quoting the Lion King before engaging in a sword fight for the planet. Then he lost his hand and grew a new one in time to win the duel. She continued with the memories of dinner in her mother's flat and their talk under the stars about whether she would keep travelling with him before allowing the memories to fade away.

Alex looked himself over again as they came back to awareness in the garden. Seeing Rose's memory of looking at him from the outside gave him a new perspective on this incarnation. He rather liked it and she seemed to like it from the very beginning as well. He looked over to see her smiling at him and he blushed as he was caught admiring himself.

With a sigh, Evander readied himself for some of both the best and the most difficult memories that he had to share. He showed them the trip to New New York, meeting Queen Victoria and the werewolf, as well as bumping into Sarah Jane while investigating the school infested with Krillitanes. He cringed a bit as he relived the events involving Madame de Pompadour, the Cybermen in the parallel world, and Rose losing her face to the Wire. There were happier memories shared as well, but the most difficult ones were standing out painfully.

Evander continued with the memories of Kroptor and their defeat of the Beast. There were the unusual events surrounding the Absorbaloff, then their trip to the Olympics where a lost Isolus had befriended a lonely little girl. He shared the memories of the shift in their relationship. It had never gone further than a few heated kisses, but it probably would have if not for the storm that broke then. The events of Canary Wharf hit them almost as hard in the memories as they had originally. Rose took in the memories from his perspective as she watched herself falling from the lever towards the Void. Evander allowed his memories to fade when he finally tore himself away from the wall to go back to the TARDIS.

Before they all returned to their awareness of the garden, however, Rose added her own memories from the other side. She beat against the wall in the parallel Torchwood; begging the universe to send her back to her Doctor as tears streamed down her face.

When they opened their eyes this time, they were all crying. Even Alex couldn't keep himself from allowing the tears to fall. Whether he felt like he had lived it or not, the story alone was heartbreaking.

“Time for a break, I think,” Rose said, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. “I need a nice hot shower and I'm willing to bet that he could use some time to think about everything we've shared so far,” she added with a nod towards Alex.

“You're probably right,” Alex agreed as he stood up and stretched muscles that had become stiff from sitting on the ground for the few hours that they had been there. Sharing memories telepathically was fast, but he was getting very detailed recollections of over two years worth of events. So, it would still take quite some time. “I think I'll take a walk.”

“I'll be here if either of you need me,” Evander said as he pulled a book from his pocket and settled under the tree to read.


	20. Down Memory Lane

Chapter Twenty – Down Memory Lane

Alex wandered through the TARDIS garden deep in thought. His last clear memories were just barely after the war. He felt like he should be the broken man that he remembered and yet, being here with these two people, who were apparently another version of himself and somehow Rose Tyler, he didn't feel broken at all. 

He believed the memories that they shared with him were real; he could feel their love and sincerity. He was also sure that the TARDIS would have warned him if there were anything wrong. And if that was the case, then he had fallen deeply in love with Rose. He wasn't sure where the story of their lives would turn next, considering where it had left off, but she was somehow here now and they were married. Alex hoped desperately that his own memories would come back to him so that he could feel like he was a part of all of this again, instead of feeling like he was watching a movie about someone else.

He prodded curiously at the bond that he shared with them and felt Rose return an affectionate caress towards him. In his memory, he had never created a link like this with anyone and certainly not this deep. Considering the fact that they didn't have to be touching for all of the communicating they were doing, it meant that they had tied their lives together. He certainly wouldn't have done that lightly.

Having taken the time to let his thoughts settle and absorb all of the information they had shared with him, Alex started his walk back to the tree. It was time to move on with this story, because he knew there was a lot more to go. The other Doctor had said he lost about seven or eight years and so far, it was only a little over two years of memories that they had shared.

**************************************

Rose walked briskly to their room, ready to indulge in a scalding shower. Reliving her first years with the Doctor were both wonderful and painful. She loved recalling the fun adventures and looked back fondly on their blossoming relationship at that time. But feeling his pain from the Game Station, reliving the events that happened in France, and most horrible of all, seeing his perspective of Canary Wharf, had all worn down her emotional reserves. Going through his years without her would likely be difficult and then, she would have to share everything that had happened in the parallel world, the trial, and their search for Evander.

She let the hot water ease her tense muscles and rolled her neck as she closed her eyes. Rose noticed that the TARDIS had given her some lavender body wash and smiled. Their beloved time ship always knew just what she needed.

Once she felt relaxed and refreshed, Rose put on the new dress she had bought while shopping with Jack earlier and made her way back to the garden room. She felt Alex exploring their bond and sent him a mental caress with a wave of affection. She missed him. He was right there, but she missed him anyway. They would fix all of this, somehow.

As Rose returned to her place on the grass next to Evander, she watched Alex walking up the path towards them. He had his hands buried in his pockets, just as he usually did and he flashed her a grin that was painfully familiar. Yes, they WOULD fix this.

“Are we ready to continue?” Evander asked both of them as he closed his book.

“Yes, I think so. I really hope that this works. I want these memories to feel like my own and right now I just feel like it's someone else's story,” Alex replied as he returned to his place on the grass. He didn't meet their eyes and Rose took his hand in support.

“We WILL fix this, Doctor. I will not lose you again,” she said assuredly.

He swallowed hard and nodded, squeezing her hand in return.

“Of course we will,” Evander added with his usual authority.

Without another word, Evander went straight back into sharing his memories with them. Following the events of Canary Wharf, the Doctor spent months trying to find a crack large enough to somehow get her back. There were tears and screams and throwing several copies of the TARDIS manuals into supernovas when he disagreed with them. Then he found that one little gap and a supernova that he could tap into for enough power. That was when they said their goodbyes. When the transmission cut off and the tears were still glistening in his eyes, he found himself face to face with Donna. 

The memories flashed by faster now through the events with the Racnoss Empress, meeting Martha Jones in the hospital, taking her to meet Shakespeare and New Earth. The heartbreak of knowing that the Daleks involved in Canary Wharf had survived and made it to New York was difficult to watch. Following that were the events with Professor Lazarus, a spaceship falling into a living sun and his time as John Smith. For a few months, he was trapped in 1969 with Martha while they worked on all of the steps outlined by Sally Sparrow to get the TARDIS back from the Weeping Angels.

The events surrounding the return of the Master were horrible. He was a prisoner for a year with the man who used to be his best friend, but had long ago become a psychotic enemy. The Master was an expert in telepathic torture and had learned about Rose right away. It was a constant wound to be opened during that time, but the Doctor tried to use his memories of her as an escape from the pain. When Martha had revealed the plan, he could almost imagine her voice calling out 'Doctor' with the rest of the world.

Then came the spaceship Titanic and the return of Donna Noble. Their adventures with Adipose Industries, saving a family in Pompeii, freeing the Ood and stopping the Sontarans from turning the Earth into a new clone breeding planet were lighthearted in comparison to the tortures he had been through in recent years. There were several fun trips where he took her shopping on various planets and visited the wonders of the universe before tragedy struck again.

Rose had seen the memories of what happened on Messaline recently, but she could feel Alex's pain regarding Jenny's murder. The mystery that the Doctor and Donna solved with Agatha Christie was almost as filled with death as the events that followed in the Library. Rose found the idea of the Vashta Nerada absolutely terrifying, especially knowing that the Doctor hadn't beaten them, just convinced them to allow everyone to leave based on his reputation alone.

His memories from the planet Midnight were strange and disjointed from the creature that had possessed his mind. That trip was supposed to be a relaxing holiday following the wave of death that had been following them. While Donna had managed to relax her days away, the Doctor was left thoroughly shaken by the experience.

Running from the diamond planet, he took Donna to Shan Shen for a relaxing shopping trip. There they were met with the 'Bad Wolf' warnings and Donna's fading memories of Rose after being attacked by a strange beetle that changed her past decisions. Simple decisions that changed the entire universe.

Heeding the warnings of the 'Bad Wolf,' they tried to return to Earth, only to discover that the Earth had disappeared. He took Donna to the Shadow Proclamation for help with the mystery, only to discover that several other planets had also been lost. It was Donna's mention of the bees disappearing on Earth that brought him to the solution.

Once the Doctor had solved the mystery of the twenty-seven planets and, along with help from his extended family, fought his way through to land on Earth, they came to the memory of his first sight of Rose after so long apart. Rose watched the memory closely from his perspective, feeling his emotions flowing through her. As they ran towards each other, she felt his sudden wave of panic at the sight of the solitary Dalek that had interrupted them. She cursed herself yet again for not using the giant gun she was holding at the time, wasn't that what she had brought it for?

They could sense when Alex started putting the pieces together from the aborted regeneration and how it might end up creating a second Doctor. They all felt the pain of Davros' accusations as well as the joy of watching Donna save the day.

Evander continued with his sharing of memories through leaving them on Bad Wolf Bay and what happened to Donna before he allowed it all to fade away. Upon opening his eyes, he could see Alex staring down at his hands.

“I'm a copy then? Not really the Doctor,” Alex said softly.

Rose immediately took both of his hands in hers and looked him straight in the eye. “You ARE the Doctor. Just as much as he is,” Rose assured him. “Now it's my turn. You will see very clearly just how much you proved to me and everyone that you are completely the Doctor.”

Rose began sharing her memories with both of her Doctors from the moment she had asked them how their goodbye was supposed to end. She shared his breakdown at the loss of the TARDIS' song in his mind and followed through their quiet conversations and bonding. At the memory of bonding with Rose, Alex felt a shift in his own mind and gasped as he was thrown back into reality.

Rose and Evander watched him carefully as he tried to catch his breath. “What happened?” Rose asked anxiously.

“There was something... something about remembering our bonding. It all feels real now. All the memories that you shared up to that point, everything of my own memories are back,” Alex smiled and hugged Rose tightly. “I still can't remember anything past that, but it's a start. It means that I should be able to get the rest of it back, too.”

Keeping a hold on each of their hands, Rose resumed sharing her memories of their life in the parallel world. Their first night of intimacy, his discovery of the changes that had happened to her, preparing for their human wedding, and their travels through their extended honeymoon. Rose braced herself as she moved on into the memories of what happened to her family and their investigation into who could have done such a thing.

When Rose reached the memories of her regeneration, she could feel both of her Doctors squeezing her hands in support. She quickly relayed the memories of their return to this universe and discovering their need to find a way to save Alex's life. 

The events surrounding their return to Gallifrey and the trial were pleasant overall. Their time on his home planet was refreshing and sweet, and while the trial was stressful at the time, no one had died during their time there.

The memories of their search for the other Doctor were frustrating, but not traumatizing either. They visited Venice and helped in Sardick Town before meeting his eighth incarnation. The memories of visiting Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart were pleasant for everyone and it was shortly after that when they finally found a way to call the TARDIS to them.

When they reached the memories of sharing Rose's regeneration energy and connecting to the other Doctor, the three of them all felt the spark that flared in Alex's mind. Alex flinched, Rose gasped, and Evander gave a brief shout as a new flood of images came through from Alex's mind. But these were not the memories that they had shared with him, these were all of the memories that came afterward.

Before Rose and Evander could even process what had happened, they found themselves wrapped tightly in Alex's embrace. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“You're welcome,” Evander said sincerely. “Now will you please let go of me?”

Alex laughed and when he released Evander from the hug, he moved so both of his arms held tightly to Rose. He fell back on the grass and rolled her beneath him as he kissed her soundly.

When he finally pulled back from the kiss, Rose gazed at him lovingly and said, “I'm so glad that you're alright, love. I was so afraid that you'd never remember our time together at all. That I'd be the only one who remembered our wedding and our time together on Gallifrey.”

“We could never let that happen, love. If this hadn't worked so easily, we would have found another way. The sustained electric shock scrambled my brain a bit, but the memories were all still there,” Alex assured her.

Evander stood and began walking toward the door. “I'm going to go inform Jack that you are back to your usual manic self and maybe get a start on some dinner. When you're done snogging each other senseless, you are welcome to join me,” Evander said with a smile and a small bow before leaving the room. 

They could feel that he was happy and joking with them. He loved them both, but he wasn't fond of snuggling, tickling and the silly snogging sessions that Alex enjoyed with Rose. Later, Rose knew that he would set some puzzle for her on one of the many chalk boards that he had around the TARDIS and they would work out some problems regarding one of the subjects that Rose had taken an interest in studying lately.

For now, Rose and Alex rolled around in the grass, tickling and kissing and just generally enjoying the fact that all of his memories were clear once again. Everyone was safe and the crisis was past.


	21. Interrupted

Chapter Twenty-One - Interrupted

 

Evander was in the kitchen, leaning against the cupboards with his arms crossed and his face set in a thoughtful scowl. He had already put some things into the oven for dinner and was taking the time to contemplate everything that had happened today with Alex. He had shared so much with Rose in all of this. Thoughts and feelings from the time that she was lost that he never would have shared with her otherwise. Much of it, he wasn't proud of and didn't want her to know about, but as usual, she took it all in stride and was just thankful to learn more about him.

While he was brooding over all of this, Rose entered the kitchen and immediately moved to his side. She crossed her arms, mirroring his stance and looked at him questioningly.

"What's the matter, love?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

"Oh, nothing you need to worry about, darling. Just my usual self-loathing type of thoughts that you'll no doubt assure me are complete rubbish," he answered with a small smile.

"Quite right," Rose replied as she turned to wrap her arms around his neck, forcing him to uncross his arms as she kissed him soundly.

He suddenly felt a little mischievous. He lifted her up by her bum and twisted around to sit her on the countertop. Keeping his hands on her hips, he pulled her against him and deepened kiss, needing to taste every corner of her mouth. Rose groaned as a wave of unexpected lust rushed through her and she tangled her fingers in his thick, silver hair as her tongue battled with his for dominance.

Evander began kissing down her neck towards the plunging neckline of her new dress. Rose gasped as he sucked on a sensitive spot just below her ear.

“I take it you approve of my new dress?” Rose gasped as she tried to slow down her breathing.

Evander merely grunted against her skin, then backed away enough to give her a filthy grin and waggled his eyebrows before diving under her dress to please her in the way that he usually left to Alex. It wasn't that he disliked doing this for her, but Alex loved it. Evander loved what he felt from her through their bond though when he did this. Maybe he shouldn't let Alex have all this fun, after all.

Rose leaned back on her hands and rested her legs over Evander's shoulders. “Oh, Doctor,” she groaned and he hummed in response which just made her soar even higher. Rose was right on the edge of ecstasy when Evander did the most brilliant thing ever with his tongue.

“Whatever you're making for supper, smells fantastic...” Jack said as he rounded the corner into the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks. “Umm, ... oops. I'll come back a little later.” As he sauntered back towards the library, he couldn't help but chuckle at their antics. If only the Doctor had given into his desire for Rose back when he'd first met them.

Evander looked up at Rose as his face turned as red as her namesake. She couldn't help but laugh and pulled him close to her for a hug.

“I'm glad you find this funny,” he said petulantly.

“Oh, it's only Jack, Doctor. We've caught him in far worse situations before,” Rose said once she got her giggles under control.

“I suppose,” he grumbled. “Trying to be spontaneous is rather difficult with other people on board.”

“Oh, don't worry about it. At least it wasn't Clara,” Rose said as she thought about what she had been told about his most recent companion. “We should probably think about visiting her sometime, I suppose.”

“Yes, well...” he paused as he considered the repercussions of sharing this, but he had put it off for far too long now. “I believe I mentioned when you first came back that I had been visited by Father Christmas,” Evander said nervously. “He may have mentioned that she might need some help, but then, the two of you were here and it IS a time machine, after all...”

“Doctor,” Rose scolded with a disapproving look in her eyes. “The next thing on our agenda now, is to go and help your friend. What happened?”

“Her boyfriend was killed while crossing the street. We tried to save him, but he saved himself... oh, it's complicated. Let me show you,” he responded and showed her the memories of everything that had happened with Clara after Danny had died and with Missy and the Cybermen. Then shared the memories of their meeting in the coffee shop as well as the warning from Father Christmas.

Rose wasn't sure what to say in response, she could tell from the conversation with Clara in the coffee shop that she was hiding a painful secret. The Doctor may not have seen it, but Rose could read people like no one else, so she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his forehead to lean against hers. Rose had a feeling that the Doctor's assumption that the bracelet being there meant that Danny was saved might not be the case based on Clara's response. She could certainly sympathize with Clara for dealing with the sudden death of a loved one. Rose was a mess after her family had been killed and they weren't even given the chance for a funeral before they were running for their own lives.

Alex entered the kitchen just then, his hair still damp from the shower. Sensing their conflicted emotions, he wanted to know what the problem was. “What's going on? What are you two so worried about all of a sudden? It certainly didn't feel that way a little while ago,” he said with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smirk as he tried to lighten their mood a little.

“Well,” Rose began, “THAT was interrupted by Jack coming in here, but as for what the problem is now, we need to visit Clara. Apparently, she wasn't doing so well just before we came along and Evander's been putting off going back.”

“What happened to her?” Alex asked and Evander shared the memories regarding Clara, Missy and the Cybermen again. He had shared these memories with him as soon as they had appeared in the TARDIS, but there had been so many other things to worry about at the time that they had all put it aside. He added in their little meeting in the coffee shop where he told her that he had found Gallifrey and what Father Christmas had told him about her not being alright at all. 

“Oh, yes, I suppose we should go for a visit and see what we can do to help,” Alex responded.

“Honeymoon's over?” Rose asked with a sigh.

“No!” both of her Doctors shouted and after a brief silence, they all burst out laughing.

While they were trying to get their laughter under control, Jack returned to the kitchen. “Is it safe to come in here now?” he asked with a snicker as he knocked mockingly on the doorframe.

“Yes, Jack, it's safe,” Rose answered. “Sorry about earlier.” Her smile though, said that she was not in the least bit sorry.

“I'm sorry for interrupting earlier,” Jack said as he waggled his eyebrows at both Rose and Evander, who blushed and quickly turned to tend to the dinner he had been preparing. “However, I think it's time you guys dropped me off somewhere. As much as I love travelling with you, there is too much sex going on that doesn't involve me around here. And a man like me can only take so much teasing.”

They discussed places that Jack might want to go as they shared a leisurely dinner. It had been nice having him around, but he wasn't suited to be a permanent fixture in their lives. There would always be visits. After all, he would be alive for several billion years.

When dinner was over, Jack had decided on another pleasure planet. This one happened to be in a considerably cleaner and safer place than where they had found him several weeks ago. Alex handed him a credit stick as they were saying their goodbyes.

“Consider it a thank you for getting me out of there before prolonged electrocution managed to do any more damage. But don't expect us to go around paying all your bar tabs just because you're family,” Alex told him firmly.

Jack winked in response. “I'll keep that in mind. Doctor,” he said as he shook Alex's hand. “Doctor,” as he shook Evander's. “And my lovely, little sister,” he said with a hug that lifted Rose off the ground. “I'll see you guys again soon. Don't do anything that I wouldn't do!”

“That's a short list!” Rose called after him as he walked down the brightly lit street.

“Well, my love, after all of the heartbreaking memories that we relived today, I think it's time for a little relaxation before tackling the Father Christmas/Clara problem,” Alex said with a warm smile. “Would you care to accompany us to the opera?” he asked as he offered her his arm chivalrously. Evander moved to her other side and offered his arm as well. Rose smiled at each of them and linked arms as they led her back into the TARDIS where she could change her clothes and they could set course for Vienna. They had promised her a trip to watch Die Zauberflöte after all.


	22. Last Christmas: Part One

Chapter Twenty-Two - Last Christmas: Part one

Evander and Alex sent the TARDIS into the time vortex and began setting course for Vienna. Before they could proceed, however, there was a knock on the TARDIS doors.

"What?!" Alex exclaimed in shock. While in flight was impossible enough, but while in the vortex?

"Not again," Evander said in exasperation.

The doors opened without any influence from them and in walked Father Christmas once again. "Sorry for the interruption, Doctors, but you've definitely put this off long enough," Santa Claus said impatiently.

~'Rose, love, I think you need to come back to the console room. We seem to have a visitor,'~ Alex thought to his wife.

~'But I'm only half dressed! Corsets aren't exactly quick to put on you know,'~ Rose replied.

~'Just make yourself presentable enough for modern times and get back here. We need to go help Clara right now, I think,'~ Alex told her in a worried tone.

"Clara needs you to come get her now or she and several more people will die. You'll know where to go once you've retrieved her," Father Christmas said and exited the TARDIS once more.

At that moment, Rose came skidding into the console room wearing a red and back corset, black stockings and white pantaloons. Her hair was still down and her curls cascaded over her shoulders. Both of her Doctors gulped loudly at her disheveled appearance.

"Ok, what's the big emergency that means I couldn't finish getting dressed? I thought you said we had a visitor?" Rose asked as she descended the stairs to the main level of the room.

"Umm," Evander began, as he seemed to be the first one able to get his brain back on track. "Father Christmas just came back again to give us a proverbial kick in the arse. Apparently, we need to get Clara into the TARDIS now or she and several other people will die."

"Then let's get a move on! The Stuff of Legend, off to save the day again," she said with a smile as she took her place at the console. “Shift!”

"Right you are, love!" Alex said with a shake of his head to clear it of some less than pure thoughts about her attire. 

The trio proceeded to pilot the TARDIS to Clara's location, which happened to be on her rooftop, with a crashed sleigh and a few odd characters. Upon landing, Evander immediately ran outside to retrieve her. Alex began programming in a new destination for their next stop.

"Where do we need to take her?" Rose asked him curiously.

"Long story," Alex replied absentmindedly.

Outside the TARDIS, Evander found his young friend in conversation with Father Christmas and two elves. He approached her quickly and looked her straight in the eye. She was dressed in her nightgown, a winter coat and boots. She seemed a little hazy about what was happening around her, but seemed to be hanging on what he might say to her.

"Clara, I want you to step inside the TARDIS. I don't want you to talk. I want you to do as I ask, please," the Doctor told her, firmly.

"That was good with the box," he heard one of the elves whisper.

"Not often we get upstaged on a rooftop," the other replied.

"Yes, I'm really here. I'm back, now get inside the TARDIS," he told her again since she was staring and not moving as he had asked her to. Finally, she stepped past him and walked into the time machine, but her gaze was glassy and she seemed dazed. Once the door had closed behind her, he turned back to Father Christmas with a scowl.

"You told me lives are at stake. Are you going to tell me where the problem is?" Evander asked him sharply.

"Alex is already entering the coordinates," Santa replied with his thumbs hooked in his belt.

"How would he know where we need to go?" The Doctor asked suspiciously.

"I told you that you'd know where to go. You don't trust me right now, Doctor. But I promise, before this day is done, you will be glad of my help," he answered.

Evander scoffed at him and muttered, "Happy Easter," as he walked back to his time ship and opened the door.

He heard the elves whispering to each other again, "Oh, brutal!"

"Cool exit line though," the other replied and the Doctor smirked to himself.

"Be sure to save some room for a tangerine, Doctor," Santa called as he tried to have the last word.

Evander looked derisively over his shoulder at the red suited man and said, "Nobody likes the tangerines."

He closed the door behind him and found Clara staring at the two new occupants of the TARDIS. "Ah, Clara, I'd like you to meet Rose and .... well, and...” Evander trailed off as he tried to think about how to introduce Alex. She would of course recognize that face.

"But... but that's you! That's the Doctor that we did the whole Zygon thingy with." she said, nervously pulling the front of her coat closed over her nightclothes.

"It's a long story," he said sharply and went to help Alex with the controls.

Rose looked at Evander strangely at the remark. It was too much like the response she had gotten from Alex a moment ago. Deciding to let that oddity slide for now, she moved towards Clara for a proper introduction. The young brunette looked at her, up and down, eyes wide, before Rose remembered what she was wearing. Of course, Clara wasn't much better in her nightgown (except for the coat, Rose was probably wearing more layers than she was, even if hers was a little more provocative looking).

"Right, umm, I'm Rose, as he said. It's very nice to finally meet you, Clara," Rose said as she extended a hand toward her.

Clara shook her hand absently and stared up at the rotating gears on the ceiling when the TARDIS began to take off for their mysterious destination. "I'm really back here. This is... This is real, yeah?" Clara asked out loud.

The Doctors were both completely absorbed in their tasks and seemed to be ignoring her. Rose looked at them, a little worriedly. Something didn't feel right about this situation.

Not used to being ignored, Clara moved to Evander's side. "Doctor, talk to me. I never thought I was gonna see you again. And it's probably serious if there's two of you here. What's going on out there? What's happening?" Clara asked as her own dazed eyes seemed to clear a bit.

Evander was fighting through a cloudy haze that was trying to take over his concentration. There was a problem. Alex shouldn't have just known where to go. And Clara seemed to be experiencing the same force pushing on her consciousness. There was also a pain starting in his right temple. The possibilities that were occurring to him were frightening beyond belief. 

Abruptly turning to Clara, Evander said, "There's something you have to ask yourself, Clara, and it's important. Your life may depend on it, everybody's life." He gripped her upper arms tightly as he asked, "Do you really believe in Santa Claus?" He stalked away from her then and stood directly in front of Rose. 

Behind him, Clara looked around the room, taking in the sights that were so familiar to her. Ones she never thought she would see again. Happily she said, "D'you know what? Yeah. Right now... Yeah. I think I do."

He looked deeply into Rose's eyes, he was terrified of what might be happening, but knew that he would need her to get through this. He pushed his fingers into her hair and pulled her mouth against his for a fervent kiss. Releasing her with a gasp, he turned back to the console.

~'Does your head hurt?'~ Evander asked both of his spouses. Alex seemed to be having more trouble breaking through the haze than he was and he could see very little sign of it at all in Rose right now.

~'Yes, I thought it might be left over from my accident earlier,'~ Alex replied.

~'Maybe a little,'~ came Rose's response.

"Right," Evander said aloud as he clapped his hands, the sounds of the TARDIS materializing faded as they thumped to a stop. "There are apparently several lives at stake and we are needed here. Wherever here is."

Clara was gaping and looking back and forth between him and Rose, obviously shocked by their rather intimate interaction. Grabbing Clara's hand, he began to pull her outside with Alex and Rose following close behind. Alex put his trench coat over Rose's shoulders when they found themselves outside of some kind of official looking building, with a dark sky and lots of blowing snow. Evander led them to a side door and opened it with his sonic, hurrying the two, rather underdressed, ladies inside.

There was a girl on the floor wearing headphones with her eyes closed as she hummed along to a Christmas song. Her eyes popped open suddenly when she felt the cold breeze from the doorway and she shrieked. “We've... we've got ghosts!” she shouted into her headset. “Yeah, two tall skinny guys and a couple of girls!”

Seeing they were in an infirmary, Alex and Evander immediately ran over to take a closer look at the four people lying on hospital beds along one wall of the room. 

“Doctor?” Clara asked uncertainly as she shifted away from the girl freaking out on the floor and the strange creatures that were slowly sitting up on the beds in unison.

“No, no! You're making me think about them, don't make me think about them!” the young woman on the floor shouted and covered her face with her hands.

“Do you know what they are?” Rose asked her husbands. She watched the creatures carefully for any sudden moves, but didn't get any closer.

“Look, just don't ask, yeah? And don't look. Don't make me think about them!” the girl continued in her panicked state.

Both Doctors had their sonics out and were scanning the creatures as they stood from the beds and walked slowly towards the people in the room.

“Deaf. Blind,” Evander listed as he checked his readings.

“How can they see us?” Alex asked as he backed towards Rose and put an arm out to keep her behind him.

“How do they even know we're here?” Evander wondered and tried to look at the back of one of their heads.

“They can only see you, yeah, if you see them. So just don't look, don't even think about them!” the girl on the floor said as she curled up into a ball and started rocking back and forth to calm herself.

“Are they telepathic then?” Rose asked.

“Oooh... they can home in on their own image in someone else's brain. Third-party perception,” Alex said as he continued to keep himself between the creatures and Rose.

Evander nodded and continued the explanation, “Mmhmm. Mind piracy. We're being hacked.”

“What does that even mean?” Clara asked nervously, backing toward the centre of the room.

“The visual input from your optic nerve is being streamed to their brains. Stop broadcasting. Close your eyes!” Evander said as he stood directly in front of Clara, waved his arms for emphasis and closed his eyes as well once she had obeyed.

“Rose, put your shields up, love. Think about something else... think about our wedding day,” Alex said in a soothing voice and they both closed their eyes as well, clasping hands.

“What?!” Clara exclaimed, suddenly completely fixated on the idea of the Doctor married to yet another woman instead of the frightening creatures that were slowly moving towards them.

“Ah, yes, well...” Evander said, stumbling over how exactly to explain this situation. “That would be a sufficient distraction. Clara, the other Doctor isn't me from another point in time. He is an offshoot from one of my previous incarnations and now he and Rose are back and we are all happily married.”

“I... no.... WHAT?!” Clara stuttered and her eyes popped open again to stare at him, forgetting completely about the creatures that had been threatening them before.

The room went silent and Alex risked a glance at the aliens. They were just standing still as if waiting for a telepathic signal to follow and he strengthened is barriers more tightly.

“What do you mean, you're married? How long have you been gone? What about River? What the hell is going on?!” Clara asked, the volume and tension in her voice increasing with every question.

Everyone stood in tense silence for a moment before the door to the interior of the building burst open and two people carrying large guns ran into the room. “Go! Run! Now, now, now!” the woman shouted at them authoritatively.

“Come on, quick, quick, come on!” Evander shouted as he tried to usher all of them out of the room.  
The man that had come in with the gun looked up towards the ceiling and said, “Here they come!”

Everyone looked up and began to panic as large, blue, crustacean-looking things began to fall towards them. Several people began screaming and then suddenly, in what seemed like a long blink, they were all just standing in the room again. Within the span of a breath, however, the wall exploded and sparks rained from the now destroyed wiring in the breeched wall.

A tangerine bounced through the hole and rolled across the floor. Rose bent to pick it up and looked back at her husbands curiously before her attention was once again drawn to the gaping hole in the wall by a small army of toys start parading into the room under their own power.

Outside in the snow, they heard a reindeer whinny and saw Santa riding on Rudolph's back. “Woah! Ah, good boy! Good boy,” he said as he dismounted and sauntered into the room, followed closely by two elves.

“Well now. What seems to be the problem? This is the North Pole. We don't want any trouble here,” Santa announced to the room as everyone gawked at the impossible figure. Behind him, Rudolph brayed and he turned back towards him. “Rudolph?” he said as he pressed on a small remote and a beeping sound was heard like a car alarm. “Easy son.”

Alex turned to Evander and said, “We should do that with the TARDIS!”

“I already did, just before I regenerated away from the one that matched you; I just can't find the remote,” he replied.

The man in red scowled at the two of them for taking attention away from him, then shouted past them to the room beyond, “Oi! Sleepy heads! It's Christmas Eve, early to bed.” He clapped his hands and the gruesome creatures turned back to the beds, reclining once again.

“Who the hell are you?” the dark skinned woman asked as she pointed her enormous gun towards Santa Claus.

“Oh, take a guess, go on. Push the boat out!” Evander shouted as he raised his eyebrows at Alex and Rose in exasperation. Deciding to ignore the ridiculous scene, he moved to get a closer look at the sleeping creatures.

“Tooth fairy, maybe?” Alex said as he rubbed the back of his neck trying not to smirk.

“Oooh, how about the Easter Bunny!” Rose cried cheekily and patted Alex on the shoulder excitedly.

“Shut your mouths, you two, or you'll get yours!” one of the elves said to the pair as he threatened them with a twisted balloon dog. Alex and Rose both raised an eyebrow at him.

“It's a balloon animal,” the other elf pointed out.

“That's a TOY gun,” the first elf rebutted.

“Yeah, well, at least it's unsuitable for children under four! Parts small enough to swallow. So watch out,” the second argued.

Santa sighed and shook his head at their antics.

“Can't get good help these days, eh Father Christmas?” Rose stage whispered to the man next to her.

“Don't I know it, Rose,” he replied.

The girl who had been panicking on the floor earlier got up and started waving her arms about as she began shouting again, “This is ridiculous. Am I dreaming?”

“Oh, very good!” Evander said in sudden inspiration. He stepped back from the recumbent forms and stroked his chin in thought.

“They are, aren't they?” Alex asked him pointedly as he began making the same connections that Evander had.

“I think so,” he replied and continued studying them.

“I need to know exactly who you are and what's happening here,” the dark skinned woman commanded as she tried to regain control of the situation.

“Hello, Ashley. Lead scientist on a polar expedition!” Santa said to her as he approached with his thumbs hooked into his belt. “That microscope really paid off, didn't it? Now, your mum and dad wanted me to get you a toy one, but sometimes, I take a chance.”

“Who are you? Why are you dressed like... that?” Ashley asked, adamantly refusing to believe her eyes.

“Why do you think?” Santa responded with a look similar to the Doctors' you've-dribbled-on-your-shirt stare.

“Come on, this is mental! This is totally not happening,” cried the girl they met when they first arrived.

“I've got three words, Shona. Don't make me use 'em,” Santa responded as he stalked towards her.

“What three words?” she asked with wide eyes.

“My. Little. Pony,” he snapped at her as he counted on his fingers.

“Shut up, you!” she shouted and stepped towards him threateningly.

“Yeah? I've got lots more, babe,” he said as he stood toe to toe with her.

“I will mark you, Santa!” she shouted and looked like she might punch him. Ashley pulled her back before it came to blows and Santa turned to walk around the room again.

“Ok, Doctor, are you going to explain? What is going on?” Clara interrupted with her stern, teacher voice.

“It's an invasion, Miss Oswald,” Santa said as he walked past her and back outside.

“An invasion of what, elves?” Clara asked snarkily.

“Whoa! THAT is racist,” said the elf that had been holding the toy gun earlier.

“Elfist!” added the other.

“Which is a bit hypocritical, from someone of your height,” the first said with a glare at Clara.

“Ok, ok! I think everyone needs to calm down a bit here,” Rose interjected. It seemed like they were all looking for a fight.

Santa returned from outside, carrying a large jar containing an unmoving, blue creature that resembled the things that seemed to be wrapped around the heads of the people on the beds.

“Huh? You seen them before, Doctor?” Father Christmas asked as he held it up for inspection. 

Alex ran over to the jar and put on his glasses as he looked at it closely. Evander got up from his inspection of the one on the bed and walked towards the jar as well. “I've heard of them,” he said.

“The Kantrofarri,” Santa informed them.

“Also known as the Dream Crabs,” Alex said and pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he tapped on the jar with his finger.

“Yeah. Depending on how many of those are already on Earth, the human race may well have seen its last day. So, are we going to stand about, arguing about whether I'm real or not, or are we going to get busy saving Christmas?” Santa said, addressing the room at large.

“Oh-ho-ho! Santa goes badass!” said the elf who had the balloon dog now tucked into the back of his belt.

“He's giving me the feels,” the other said.

“Shut up!” Santa shouted at them, looking embarrassed and exasperated at their outburst. “That's a... that's a verbal warning. Please, stop it.”


	23. Last Christmas: Part Two

Chapter Twenty-Three – Last Christmas: Part 2

 

Alex and Evander were examining the thing in the jar as Ashley leaned on the table across from them. Rose found the things needed to make tea and was passing the blessedly warm mugs around to everyone. When she reached between the two Doctors to hand them their tea, both turned to kiss her on either cheek in thanks. She hummed happily, then moved to sit on a stool at the end of the table.

Clara was sulking in the corner of the room and seemed to be pondering the dynamics of the Doctor's new relationship.

“Is it dead?” Rose asked from her perch on the stool.

“I don't know. Possibly,” Evander said as he checked some readings on his sonic again.

“I'm assuming extra-terrestrial,” Ashley interjected as she looked at the thing curiously.

“Oh definitely,” Alex replied and leaned back to sip his tea.

“Then how can you have heard of these things?” Ashley asked them.

“I'm willing to bet that you can guess the answer to that one,” Rose replied with a smirk.

Looking between the three of them nervously, she deduced, “Because you're extra-terrestrial too?”

“Do you believe that?” Evander asked with a raised eyebrow.

They could hear Shona arguing with Santa and the two elves in the hallway. She was questioning them relentlessly as she tried to prove that they weren't real.

Ashley was staring blankly at the creature in the jar as she processed the idea that she was working with aliens to save people's lives. She seemed to come to some kind of decision and stood up to start her own string of questions.

“Why's it called a Dream Crab, for a start?” she asked.

“Theorize,” Evander responded curtly and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Because it generates a telepathic field,” she said tentatively.

“Ooh, very good,” Alex praised her.

“And?” Evander pressed for more deductions.

“Alters perception,” she added.

“Meaning?” Evander continued as he tried to get the others in the room to reach the same conclusions that he was coming to.

“I seem to be doing all the work here,” Ashley complained as she backed away from the table.

“Meaning we can't trust anything that we see or hear,” Clara said as she started to see where this was going.

Rose looked up at her husbands with an alarmed expression. How did they get out of that attack earlier? How long have they been dreaming?

“Go to the window,” Evander said to Ashley.

“Why?” Ashley questioned him suspiciously as she made her way towards the window while keeping an eye on these people who were supposedly aliens themselves.

“Because it gets worse,” Evander said.

Ashely looked through a small, circular window to see the TARDIS parked outside of the science base. “What is that?” she asked incredulously.

“THAT is how the four of us got here,” Alex replied.

“In a box?” she said as she gave him a dubious look.

“Technically, in a telephone kiosk,” Evander replied.

Ashley laughed at the ridiculousness of it all and Rose struggled to hide her own giggles at the way Evander chose to describe all of this to her.

“How?” Ashley asked, though it was clear that she didn't believe anything that was happening anymore.

“Because it's a spaceship in disguise,” Rose said with wide eyes as she hopped down from the stool to join in the explanation of their mode of transportation.

“Do you know what the big problem is in telling fantasy and reality apart?” Evander asked Ashley.

“What?”

“They're both ridiculous,” he told her.

Clara decided that she needed to stop moping and start problem solving. “So we don't know what is real and what isn't?” she asked as she tried to establish the facts.

“Exactly,” Alex responded and took Rose by the arm to pull her aside and discuss the things that they'd already figured out.

“How long have we been dreaming?” Rose whispered to him once they were out of earshot. 

“I”m not sure. At least since Father Christmas blew the wall open,” Alex replied.

“But Doctor, what about the fact that we saw Father Christmas before that? What about the fact that Evander saw him even before we reunited?” Rose said urgently as she looked him straight in the eye.

“Oh my god...” Alex whispered in growing horror at the possibilities of that notion. “Keep that to yourself for now, Rose. They'll all panic if we push too hard, but we WILL get out of here, love. And if we haven't really found him in the real world, then we WILL.”

With a quick hug, they rejoin the conversation.

“Are we in danger?” Clara asked.

“Oh, we are way past danger, Clara. If I'm right, and I usually am, we're dying,” Evander replied ominously.

“Then how do we stay alive?” Ashley asked as she entered her problem solving commander mode.

“I like you, straight to the point. I want you to show me how you first encountered those creatures and what happened to those people in the infirmary,” Evander ordered. “I notice that you all wear mini-cams. So I assume there is footage.”

Rose and Alex had rejoined the group as he started giving instructions and Rose wrapped an arm around Evander's waist. He awkwardly allowed her to nestle herself under his arm and looked down at her with a half-smile.

“Is it possible I'm about to work with someone who might be a dream?” Ashley asked him.

“If it helps, so am I,” Evander replied and Rose shot a nervous look at Alex.

Ashley started heading towards the main room in the base that held computer monitors mounted over an entire wall. “We have footage on the drives. I'll see what I can pull up,” she said on her way to the door.

“Ashley?” Evander asked before she left. “What's this polar base for? Why are you all here?”

“It's a long story,” she responded and turned through the doorway.

Rose gasped at that. Her husbands both looked at her questioningly. At that, she shared with them her memory of Alex giving that exact answer as he was setting the course for this place and Evander giving that answer to Clara when she asked about why there was an extra Doctor on the TARDIS. The two Doctors looked at each other worriedly as they tried to calculate exactly when this had all started.

Clara interrupted their calculations with a sudden question, “What did you mean when you said you were all married? How long have you been gone?”

Evander closed his eyes and sighed as he resolved to explain this as best he could. With a squeeze to Rose's shoulder, he turned to face his friend. “Before I get into what is a very long story, how much do you remember from my timeline? I'm unclear about what you know because sometimes you seem to know almost everything about me and other times you ask silly questions like, 'who's Amy?' I guess, most importantly, do you remember anything about Rose Tyler?”

“It's fuzzy. I guess the parts that I experienced were usually when you didn't have any companions because they were there to help you instead of me,” Clara said. “I don't recall Rose Tyler being mentioned specifically.”

“To keep this explanation short, I've loved Rose Tyler since I wore the leather jacket. You remember that I told you that I kept pinstripes' face through a regeneration?” he said as he gestured toward Alex. She nodded and he continued, “I siphoned off the regeneration energy and ended up creating a copy of myself rather than changing and he and Rose went off to live a fantastic life together. It didn't turn out the way we had planned and they are back. We all needed each other and now I can have a real forever with the woman that I've loved for over a thousand years.”

“Oh,” she said quietly as she looked down at the floor and fidgeted her fingers together. “So, you married three other women while you were in love with someone else?”

“Three?” Alex asked incredulously.

“Are you trying to get me relegated to the couch tonight, Clara?” Evander said as he threw his arms in the air. “Look, you two already knew about River and Queen Elizabeth. Marilyn Monroe was NOT my fault! Kazran and Abigail refused to leave the party before I could run away.”

Rose tried to hide her giggles behind her hand as he defended the accidents of his past incarnations. She knew that she was missing from his life for a thousand years and couldn't blame him for trying to fill that void in his life with River. The others were silly misunderstandings. How many times had he likely accidentally married her during their travels?

“I think the rings will help prevent any more accidental marriages, love,” Rose told Evander and he relaxed when he realized that she wasn't angry.

Clara tried to smile, but it wouldn't reach her eyes. “So, we're dying then?” she asked in an awkward bid to change the subject.

“Yes,” Evander replied thankful to leave the subject of his accidental marriages behind.

“Why?” Clara continued.

“Oh, complicated,” he answered, not wanting to get into just how bad this was at the moment.

“How long do we have?”

Looking back towards Alex and Rose for an opinion, all he got was a shrug from Alex. “No idea,” Evander answered.

“Just... Doctor, give me something to do,” she said, needing to keep herself busy to stop the tears that she felt threatening. There were too many thoughts circling her brain at once. Thoughts of the Doctor in love with someone that again wasn't her, thoughts of Danny and how he should be stronger in her grief than the man in front of her, thoughts of the danger that they were in now that she was finally seeing him again... if she didn't occupy her mind with something else, she thought she might shatter.

“Trust nothing. Accept nothing you see. Whatever happens, interrogate everything,” Evander told her.

“In case it's a lie?” Clara asked.

“In case it's a lie,” he responded with a nod.

The Doctors, Rose and Clara entered the room with the wall of monitors just in time to hear a bit of a scuffle from the hallway as Shona stormed in, scribbling in a notebook furiously. 

“You alright?” Rose asked Shona.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm trying to talk sense into Beardy-Weirdy,” Shona replied with a glare at the man calling himself Santa Claus.

“You don't seem much like a scientist,” Evander commented to her.

“That's a bit rude, coming from a magician!” she snarked back at him.

“Why are you out here? What brought you to the North Pole?” he asked, testing her.

“Long story, isn't it?” she said as she looked down to the floor for a moment.

“Oh my god!” Rose gasped and turned white as a sheet.

“What is it, love?” Alex asked as he grabbed her arm to keep her from collapsing on the floor.

Evander turned quickly to see what the problem was and found her staring at the elves. He followed her gaze and his jaw dropped as well. He had noticed that one of them had the word “wolf” embroidered into the back of his vest earlier, but the other's jacket had been blank. It wasn't now. In glowing, gold letters, the word “bad” was now emblazoned across his shoulders.

“Why now?” Evander asked rhetorically as he furrowed his brows.

“To give YOU something to believe in, Doctor,” Santa replied.

Alex whispered reassurances to Rose as he stroked her arms soothingly, “It'll be alright, Rose. Bad Wolf has been helping us this whole time. I'm sure this isn't a bad sign. Maybe it means that all of this was part of the plan.”

Rose took a few deep breaths and nodded her agreement. Alex hugged her tightly and gave a reassuring kiss to her forehead. She then went to Evander to wrap her arms around him as well. She placed her forehead against his and looked deeply into his steel blue eyes. 

“I don't know what's real or not, but the three of us, are real and we will always be together, Doctor,” she told him assuredly. She kissed him lightly and he gave her a squeeze before turning to acknowledge Ashley who had come up behind him and coughed to get his attention.

“Doctor, the videos are ready,” she said and gestured behind her toward the monitors.

The man in the group that they had learned was named Albert, was noisily chewing on a turkey leg as he watched the screens. Clara was leaning on the counter next to him and Rose cringed at the messy chewing sounds.

“Sorry, starving,” he grumbled around his food.

“What are we looking at?” Alex asked as he stood with his hands buried deep in his pockets.

A dark haired woman with the name Bellows written on her uniform turned from the control panel to explain, “Footage from a week ago. A side expedition from our main mission.”

“What is your main mission?” Evander asked, he hadn't been able to get any of them to answer this question yet.

“Long story,” she answered quickly.

“So you've been here a week then?” Rose interjected, trying to get a sense of how long they felt like they had been here.

“Yeah,” she said just as quickly before continuing, “Ice cave, directly beneath this base. Now, look at what we found.”

On the screen, they could see four scientists exploring an area completely enclosed in ice and above them in the ceiling was a group of the creatures, huddled together.

“Dormant at first,” Bellows continued.

“Until you looked at them too long,” Evander said.

“'Til you thought about them,” Alex continued.

“Exactly,” she said, looking astonished that they had come to the same conclusion as her.

“They were sleeping,” Alex says as he spun on his heel and paced along the side of the room. “They've probably been down there for centuries, waiting.”

“And it wakes up when you think about it?” Clara asked.

Evander nodded and explained, “They can detect their own mental picture in any nearby mind.”

“That's Bellows' theory,” Ashley added.

“It's like it responds to the presence of any data concerning itself,” Bellows concluded.

“That was always the legend. You think about a Dream Crab, a Dream Crab is coming for you,” Evander said, staring off into the distance in thought.

“This is where it gets really nasty,” Albert said, gesturing towards the monitor with his half-eaten turkey leg.

“Only now?” Clara scoffed at him sarcastically.

On the screen, one of the creatures hissed and dropped down onto the camera turning the feed to static.

“Ok, then what?” Evander asked, leaning toward the screen.

Bellows flicked a few switches and the monitors changed to a video from inside the infirmary, where she and Ashley were checking on the sleeping scientists.

Albert interrupted their investigation, saying, “They're a bit like face-huggers, aren't they?”

“Face-huggers?” Evander said slowly, looking confused.

“You know, Alien. The horror movie, Alien,” Albert explained.

“There's a horror movie called Alien?” Evander asked and began to look disgusted by the thought. “That's really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.”

Behind him, Alex and Rose could barely contain their laughter. “You only took me to see the opening night premiers of all of the Alien movies, Doctor. It's no good pretending now,” Rose said through her laughter.

“Oh, come on! Let me have a little fun with the silly humans,” Evander complained. “If the pudding-brains would quit being so derogatory towards all of the aliens out there, maybe more of them would be nice, instead of trying to blow up the planet once a week. It would certainly make our job easier, wouldn't it?”

Bellows cleared her throat to draw their attention back to the matter at hand. “First, they just slept. Couple of days, just lying there,” she said as she flicked some buttons to fast forward through the time they were sleeping.

“And then they became aggressive?” asked Evander.

“If we got close enough, yeah,” Ashley said.

“It would take the Dream Crab a little while to take control. Depends how much of the host brain was...” Evander explained to the group at large and tapered off as he came to the uncomfortable part.

“Was what?” Ashley insisted.

“Digested,” Alex filled in with a disgusted scowl. Evander nodded and looked uncomfortable when everyone looked back at him to see if that's what he was going to say.

“Are they still alive under those things?” Ashley asked. She seemed to be evaluating whether they were going to rescue their comrades or just try to escape.

“Depends what you call alive,” Evander replied.

“Are they suffering?” Ashley clarified in frustration; a little tired of this Doctor's idea of helping.

“Nooo,” Alex interjected as he strolled through the group of people. “The Dream Crab induces a dream state. It keeps you happy! It gives you a perfectly realized fantasy land while it slowly dissolves your brain.”

“Merciful, I suppose,” added Evander.

“Compared to what?” Albert asked incredulously.

“Compared to that turkey leg you keep eating,” Evander said, pointedly leaning towards him. “Could you rewind? I'd like to see them dormant again,” he continued as he turned to walk back to the monitors. “Rose, darling, could you fetch me the dead one?”

“I'll get it,” Alex said and quickly strode toward the lab. He started humming 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas' as he strolled along with his hands in his pockets. As he approached the lab, however, he heard broken glass crunching under his foot and stopped.

Focusing on the empty table which should have a large jar on it, he sent a quick warning to his spouses, ~'I think we have a problem.'~

He looked up to the ceiling just as a Dream Crab hissed and dropped onto his face.

Back in the monitor room, Rose and Evander quickly looked up at Alex's telepathic warning.

Clara noticed their sudden worry and asked, “What is it?”

“Oh my god!” Rose cried as she felt Alex fall unconscious and ran towards the lab.

“We're thinking about it. Alex!” Evander shouted and followed his wife.

“Who's Alex?” Clara called after him.


	24. Last Christmas: Part Three

Chapter Twenty-Four – Last Christmas: Part Three

 

Alex awoke slowly, in a warm embrace and a soft bed. Looking down, he saw Rose wrapped around him, deeply asleep. Why did she look like her first incarnation? No matter, this was lovely. They were in the spare bedroom at the Tyler mansion, where they often slept when they stayed over for special occasions. He hummed contentedly and rubbed his wife's back.

Suddenly, the door burst open and a bright eyed Tony Tyler raced into the room to jump onto the bed.

“Doctor! Rosie! Father Christmas has been here! There's lots and lots of prezzies downstairs and you just hafta come and see!!” Tony shouted excitedly while bouncing on the end of the bed.

Rose opened bleary eyes towards her brother and smiled. “We'll be down in a few minutes, sweetheart. Could you go see if there's tea ready for us?” Rose asked, dismissing the preschooler while she woke up. She turned to look into the loving eyes of her husband and gave him a sweet kiss. “Merry Christmas, love.”

Alex made a happy noise in the back of his throat and smiled. “Merry Christmas. This is perfect,” he said as he fell back on his pillow and basked.

“We'd best get downstairs before Tony comes and jumps on us again,” Rose said as she got out of bed and put on her dressing gown.

Alex turned on his side and leaned his head against his hand as he took in the gorgeous sight of a wonderfully pregnant Rose Tyler, grinning at him with her tongue sticking through her teeth at the corner of her mouth. He had missed that grin... wait, why would he have missed it? He shook that thought away and hopped out of bed himself to don his own dressing gown.

Hand in hand, they made their way down the sweeping staircase towards breakfast and presents. He heard Rose's voice calling to him and turned to look at her, “What was that, love?”

“I didn't say anything,” she said and rushed ahead of him down the stairs.

He paused for a moment on the staircase as he heard the voice again. He was sure that it was Rose, but not THIS Rose. What? Why would there be another Rose? Looking back toward the landing he had just passed, there was a large, incongruous chalkboard against the wall. In large, capital letters were the words, “WAKE UP!”

Suddenly, he was furious with the idea that he needed to leave this place. He picked up the eraser on the ledge of the chalkboard and wiped the words away, only to see them instantly replaced by, “YOU.” Wiping again and again, he saw “ARE” followed by “DYING!” He stepped back from the sight as fury raged with panic. He was then surrounded by chalkboards on all of the walls. They were covered with the words “WAKE UP!” and he crouched down on the floor, hugging his knees as he denied the potential truth of the message.

“Doctor?” Rose called up the staircase. “Come on, love. Tea's ready and banana pancakes!”

At the sound of his wife's voice, the Doctor slammed his eyes shut, wishing for his surroundings to return to the lovely normalcy of only a few minutes before. Peeking one eye open, he saw his wish had come true. He got up from the floor and looked around. All the chalkboards were gone. Alex took a deep breath and released all the tension that had been building in his shoulders. Placing his hands in the pockets of his dressing gown, he smiled and continued down the stairs to join his family, whistling happily to himself.

**************************************

“Wake up!” Rose shouted desperately into Alex's ear as he lay on the floor with a Dream Crab wrapped around his head. “Please! Doctor! Please wake up!”

“We did try to waken the others. No stimulus worked,” Ashley said sadly as she stood nearby.

“Ok, we kill it. We find a way to kill it and we get it off him. How do we kill it?” Evander said angrily.

“There's no way to kill it without killing your friend too. And as a scientist, may I just say, I don't like the way you're talking,” Ashley argued.

“You don't have to like it! What you all fail to understand is that if he dies; we die. The three of us are telepathically connected to the point that if one of us dies, we all die. So you will excuse me if I care more about the lives of my spouses than that of the creature that is currently trying to dissolve my husband's brain!” He shouted, then stormed away while biting on the side of his fist.

Rose suddenly appeared at his side and touched his shoulder gently. “There has to be a way. Aren't we already dreaming, Doctor?” she asked quietly so as not to alarm the others more than they already were from his outburst.

Grasping her shoulders, Evander placed his forehead against hers and took a few calming breaths. “Yes, but we all need to wake up together and if he is in a deeper dream than we are, there won't be a way to pull him back out again. I need to get into his dream somehow and bring him back with me,” he reasoned.

“Can you let one of them attack you and get yourself back out again?” Rose asked. “We're already in, how bad would it be to go further in if you are trying to fight your way back out again with him?”

“You are brilliant, darling,” he said as her idea took root in his mind. He gave her a sweet kiss in reward. Then he spun away towards the others. “Santa! In the infirmary, you told the sleepers to go to bed, and they obeyed you.”

“Sorry, doesn't mean I can get that creature off him,” Santa replied, shaking his head sadly.

“But you can get back in there unharmed, huh?” the Doctor asked.

“What?! You're asking Santa for help? He doesn't exist!” Shona shouted incredulously.

“And how would you know that? How did you become an expert on what does and doesn't exist?” Evander asks her as he moves back to Alex's side to take his hand and check his pulses.

“I can commit several million housebreaks in one night, dressed in a red suit with jingle bells. So of course I can get back into the infirmary,” the man in red replied.

“Good. Because there's only one way that I can communicate with Alex,” the Doctor said as he looked at Rose and she nodded her agreement with the plan.

******************************************************

The doorbell to the Tyler mansion rang just as Alex was running past the front hallway, chasing Tony with water pistols firing between them.

“I'll get it!” Alex called.

Opening the front door, Evander was standing outside, looking nervous.

“Finally! Blimey, you were supposed to be here hours ago. You know you can't avoid Jackie forever, she's your mother-in-law too,” Alex said over his shoulder as he headed back towards the front room, expecting him to follow.

“Alex!” Evander called before the other man could leave the hall.

Alex stopped mid-step, but didn't turn back around.

“It's not real. You KNOW that, Alex,” he told him quietly.

“Merry Christmas,” he said curtly and continued walking.

Evander followed him into the domestic scene. Jackie and Pete were sitting on the couch near a large, lavishly decorated tree. Tony, whom he had only seen in their memories, was playing on the floor in front of them with some toy dinosaurs. Finally, he looked over to where Alex had gone and saw their wife. Rose looked just as she had before the meta-crisis happened, with the small exception that she looked to be about eight months pregnant.

“Look who's finally made it!” Alex called to the room.

“Oh! There you are, sweetheart. We were expecting you last night,” Jackie called as she approached Evander and tried to grab him for a hug and kiss. His hands were up in defence immediately and he was cringing as he ran to hide behind Alex and Rose.

“Goodness, why in the world is Jackie Tyler a part of your fantasy world?” Evander asked as Jackie waved her hand at him dismissively and went back to watch Tony play.

“You know perfectly well, why. Because Rose wants her here. Rose wants her family and I'm going to give it to her. Right, my love?” Alex said as he kissed her sweetly.

“It's NOT REAL, Alex. If we don't get out of here and you die, you KNOW that she will die too. So will I, is that what you want?” Evander asked angrily.

“Of course not,” Alex said in shocked desperation as he clutched Rose closer to him and began to cry.

“I won't tell her that you want her back this way or that you wish she were pregnant,” Evander whispered in sympathy before continuing in his usual, somewhat caustic tone. “The insecurity she would feel at that would be unbearable, but you've got to wake up, Alex,” Evander demanded.

***********************************************

“Have we just killed him? Have we just made it worse?” Ashley asked worriedly.

“He thinks he can join the dream, get him out. Have a little faith,” Santa replied.

“He WILL get him out. If there's one thing that I have faith in, it's that the Doctor can solve anything. With two of them, they are unstoppable,” Rose said as she held the hands of both Doctors and tried to reach for them telepathically. They were buried too far in the dream for her to reach them and worried tears rolled down her cheeks.

************************************************

“Alex, you know what is happening. You can feel that pain in your head that means the Dream Crabs are winning,” Evander said, desperately wanting to get out of this dream.

“How long has it all been a dream? You said you saw Father Christmas before we even came back on the TARDIS. What if we don't find you in time in the real world? What if I'm still an unstable meta-crisis and I end up dying and dragging Rose down with me before we can fix any of it?” Alex cried with tears streaming down his face. “What if a dream of her being happy is the best way?”

“Best way for who, Alex? For you to have your brain dissolved and hers as well? If you die here, then all three of us die,” Evander said, trying to talk some sense into him.

“You probably won't. There can't be a real bond formed if it was all in a dream. You probably don't even believe that we're real. If it all started before we came back, maybe you think we're just some fantasy that your own mind created as part of the dream,” Alex argued as he turned to face Evander head on.

“You are forgetting one very important fact, Doctor,” Evander said sharply as his icy, blue eyes stared into burning, brown ones.

“And what's that?” he asked with building determination as the Oncoming Storm raged in both men.

“If there is one thing that I believe in, I believe in HER,” Evander replied.

*************************************************

On the floor of a science lab at the North Pole, Alex and Evander gasped and coughed violently as the large, blue Dream Crabs fell from their heads and began to writhe on the floor and collapsed into a pile of ashes beside each of them.

“Alex! Evander! Oh my god! Breathe! Please be alright!” Rose cried in panic and tried to comfort them both.

After a minute or two of wheezing and coughing, both Doctors managed to calm their racing hearts enough to turn and embrace Rose together as they enjoyed this small victory. They all knew there was more to come, but they were together and they were confident that they would fix this.

The scientists used some sort of scanner on the remains of the creature as they swept them off the floor and into a container to dispose of it.

“So these creatures, when their feeding goes wrong, they die?” Bellows asked.

“The carnivore's hazard. Food has teeth too,” Evander replied. “Now, this is where I have to point out something very important. Alex? How's your head?”

“It's getting worse,” he replied from his place wrapped in Rose's arms.

“Is it the ice cream pain? Just here? Cos I've got that,” Shona said as she pointed to her right temple.

“It's the cold I think,” Bellows said. “Some sort of reaction.”

“But only on one side, just that spot there. Doesn't that strike you as odd?” Rose questioned her assurance.

Albert added, “Well, we've all got it.”

“Ok, so why do we all have that pain?” Clara asked, tired of feeling left out.

“Theorize,” Evander insisted. They would never believe him if he just told them what the problem was, they needed to see all of the clues come together for themselves. As much as he wanted to get Alex, Rose and Clara out of the dream as quickly as possible, he needed them all to believe that they were dreaming before they could wake themselves from it.

“It was there in my dream,” Alex added to give them a start on figuring this out.

“Fine, but we weren't dreaming,” Clara argued.

“Are you sure, Clara? Are you absolutely certain?” Rose asked calmly.

“I don't know about anybody else, but I'm pretty certain I'm awake right now,” Bellows commented as she crossed her arms.

“Which is odd, when you think about it,” Evander said, ready to point them to at least one moment where they must have entered one level of dreaming.

“Odd?” Ashley asked.

“Impossible, in fact. How can any of us be awake?” he challenged.

“I don't understand,” Shona said worriedly.

“Remember how we all first met? In the infirmary?” Evander reminded them.

“Do you remember those creatures coming down from the ceiling and attacking us just before Father Christmas blew up the wall?” Alex added.

“We never stood a chance against that,” Rose finished.

“Well, w... we were rescued,” Shona said, nervously trying to deny that she could be dying at this very second.

“Yeah, we were rescued. And who was it that rescued us?” Evander asked with eyebrows raised.


	25. Last Christmas: Part Four

Chapter Twenty-Five - Last Christmas: Part Four

 

Leaving the lab, everyone walked back into the monitor room to confront the impossible man that had supposedly rescued them from the Dream Crabs earlier. They overheard him on his mobile, talking to one of his delivery teams.

“No, no, no. I need you to do the East Coast right now. Well, otherwise you'll be delivering to the islands in broad daylight. Yeah, listen... Please try and remember that our mugshots are on every Christmas card. Yeah, just get it done. Head towards the Northern Lights. Yes, I remembered to switch them on!” He switched off the phone and turned to face the group.

“The Helman-Ziegler test. The only reliable dream test that I know,” Evander said as he grabbed four matching books off of the shelf. “Your base manual. I take it none of you have memorized this?”

“I haven't... I haven't read it,” Shona admitted. No one seemed surprised by her admission.

“These books should be identical in the real world. But as they don't exist in your memory, in a dream, they can't be. Agreed?” he asked and they nodded back at him. “Clara! Give me any two digit number.”

“Fifty-seven,” she replied. Clara fidgeted a bit as she looked around the room for any more clues that this might be a dream.

Alex and Rose stood to the side while they waited for the rest of them to realize that this was really true. A few more minutes wouldn't make much difference when they had apparently already been dreaming for what felt like a month.

“Alright, all of you, turn to page fifty-seven and look at the very first word,” Evander instructed. “Right, when I point at you.”

Pointing at Ashley, she said, “Isotope.”

He moved to point at Bellows who looked back and forth between him and the book in shock.

“Well?” he asked.

“Extremely,” she replied nervously.

“Inside,” Albert said as the Doctor came to him.

“Chocolate,” Shona said harshly. “Why did I get chocolate? What's that about?”

Albert was still in denial as he said, “This can't be right. We must have got it wrong, that's all.”

“So do it again,” Rose offered as a solution.

“Try page twenty-four,” Alex said.

“Twenty-four,” Evander agreed, gesturing towards the people holding the books and they began flipping through the pages.

Pointing at each in turn again, Ashley began with, “We.”

Bellows said, “Are.”

“All,” Albert supplied.

There was an ominous pause and Evander asked, “Shona?”

With a shake to her voice, she whispered, “Dead.”

“Since the attack in the infirmary, nothing has been real?” Ashley asked as she accepted the reality of the danger they were in.

“The attack is still going on. This is it!” Evander exclaimed.

“We've been dreaming since then?” Albert said, still struggling with the proof.

Suddenly, Santa Claus interrupted their interactions, “Oh, for Easter's sake! Of course you've been dreaming! Haven't you been paying attention?”

“Rudolph. Did you see the nose?” the elf in the red jacket prompted.

“The North Pole? Come on, with stripes?!” said the one with “wolf” on the back of his vest.

“This...” said the first.

“Is....” added the second.

“A dream!” shouted the trio including the elves and Father Christmas.

“How much more obvious do you want me to make it?” Santa asked. “Because I can text the Easter Bunny, you know.”

“Seriously, are you trying to help?” Alex asked him. Santa scowled at him as Alex spun back towards his wife's side.

“As you stand here, chatting, chatting,” he said as he made a talking motion with his hand, “your lives are ending. Unless you wake up, unless you free yourselves from these dreadful creatures, they're going to destroy you.”

“You're a dream... who's trying to save us?” Shona asked.

“Shona, sweetheart, I'm Santa Claus. I think you just defined me,” he responded.

“Come on, you lot!” Alex took over, “The Dream Crab tries to make the dream as real as possible to trap you inside it. It creates dreams within dreams so you can never be sure if you are really awake. But, your brain knows something is wrong. Your subconscious fights back.”

“THIS is your mind, trying to tell you this isn't real,” Evander concluded pointing to Father Christmas.

“So, it gives you me. Sweet Papa Chrimbo!” the man in red said with a smile.

“That's a really rubbish nickname,” Rose interjected.

“Yeah, don't let me say that again,” he admitted.

“It gives you comedy elves, flying reindeer...” one of the elves said.

“Exactly,” Evander agreed.

“... a time travelling scientist dressed as a magician and his two spouses,” Santa added with a smirk.

“Classic!” the elves laughed.

“No, no, no. Hang on. No, no, no... You will NOT suggest that they are a dream,” Evander argued, pointing at Rose and Alex, desperately believing that they had to be real.

“Living in a phone box,” Wolf added.

“It's a spaceship in disguise!” Rose shouted.

“You see how none of this makes any sense?” Santa asked pointedly.

“Shut up, Santa,” Alex said angrily as he hugged Rose close to him.

“I've watched over you all your lives. I've taken care of you from Christmas to Christmas,” Santa continued despite Alex's demand.

“But you're not real,” Bellows argued.

“And yet, that never stopped me. All of you, come near. Come here, come on! Join hands,” he instructed as he motioned them all into a circle.

“No, look, we don't need all this touchy-feely stuff,” Evander protested, but Alex and Rose took his hands and pulled him into the group between them.

“Shut up, Doctor! Join hands. Come on, concentrate,” Santa said as they all gathered together.

“Why?” Bellows asked, trying to understand what was expected of them.

“You are deep inside this dream, alright, and it is a shared mental state. So, it is drawing power from the multi-consciousness gestalt which has now formed telepathically...” Father Christmas explained, but was interrupted by an irritated Evander.

“No, no, no. Line in the sand. Santa Claus does not do the scientific explanation!” Evander groused.

Rose started laughing and pulled him back to her side and away from the face off he was heading towards with their imaginary rescuer.

“Alright, as the Doctor might say, 'Aw, it's all a bit dreamy-weamy!'” Santa teased with a bad Scottish accent.

“Why don't you just go and make a naughty list?” Evander snarked back at him.

“I have, mate, and you're on it!” he replied harshly.

“Don't give me that look,” came the glowering reply.

“ALRIGHT!!” Rose shouted between them with a hand on each of their chests. “That's enough. Can we please get back to saving Christmas?”

“This is very sweet, but right now I have an alien life form wrapped around my face and apparently, it's digesting my brain,” Ashley commented. “When you speak, how do I know it's not the Dream Crab?”

“Ooooh, that's a good question! I like that!” Alex said and bounced on his toes.

“Spoken like a scientist,” Santa proudly proclaimed.

“Can I put it another way?” Clara spoke up, “Why would the part of our brain that is trying to keep all of us alive choose you for a face?”

“Is anyone else asking that?” Santa questioned with open arms.

“Yeah, yeah. Yeah, all of us. All of us, why you?” Shona stumbled over her words.

“Well,” he began. “It's the North Pole, it's Christmas Day. You're dying. Who you gonna call?”

“Ghostbusters?” Rose said cheekily.

Santa shot her a chastising look and continued, “Just one last time, huh? One last Christmas, as if your lives depended on it. Please! Ho, ho, ho! Believe in Santa!” He motioned them all together to hold hands and stepped back from the group.

“This is all very Christmassy, isn't it?” Alex asked with a manic grin.

“Ok, so what do we..?” Ashley began and trailed off as she looked around the room.

“Where did he go?” Bellows asked as she also noticed the absence of the man that had just been lecturing them.

“We're waking up. That part of the dream is over. We're on our own now,” Evander told them.

“Well, then. What do we do?” Albert asked frustratedly.

“That pain in your head. Make it worse. Head towards it,” Evander replied confidently.

“So, when we wake up, what do we expect?” Ashley asked as she closed her eyes and tried to follow the instructions.

“Only a few minutes will have passed at the most,” Alex explained. “The attack is still in progress and dream time never matches reality.”

“I'm scared,” Shona said meekly.

“Congratulations. That means you're not an idiot,” Evander told her curtly.

“Doctor! I think you might be even more rude now than you were in pinstripes,” Rose chastised him.

“Good luck,” Ashley told all of them. “Stay calm. And God bless us, every one.”

They all concentrated on the pain digging into their skulls and in a flash of bright light, they were all lying on the infirmary floor, coughing violently. Looming over them, were the four sleepers who seemed to be clutching their abdomens in pain, but were straightening as the people on the floor recovered.

“Run!” Alex shouted as he tried to usher everyone through the door to the other room. 

In the commotion, one of the sleepers grabbed Clara's arm and she shouted for help, “Doctor!”

“Clara!” Evander shouted and dragged her out of the creature's grip towards the door.

“Out, out now! NOW!” Ashley called as she pushed them all through and slammed down on the button to close the doors. One of the sleepers squeezed an arm through the closing gap and Ashley shoved it back by striking it with the butt end of her gun.

“Everyone alright?” Evander asked as they all caught their breath.

“Yeah,” Ashley said and the others nodded.

“Good, now we get to wake up again,” Rose told them, breaking the bad news.

“What do you mean?” Shona asked with wide eyes.

“I mean, that we're still dreaming. We saw Father Christmas before we even arrived here. There's another level of dreaming still to get through. Think about it, all of you. When we first met in the infirmary, what were you doing, Shona?” Rose asked.

“It's a long story,” she said quickly, without thinking.

“Ashley, what is the mission of this base?” Rose continued, knowing that the dream had been supplying this answer to fill in the odd blanks all along.

“It's a long story,” Ashley replied and looked a bit confused as to why she said that.

“Bellows, what brought you here to the base?” Rose asked, further proving her point.

“It's a long... story,” she said, trying to stop the automatic response as it fell from her lips.

“Ok, why are they all giving the same answer? Because that is a tiny bit freaky,” Clara asked.

“Dreams, they're funny,” Evander said with a hollow laugh. “They're disjointed, they're silly, they're full of ... gaps. What did we even do during our last three weeks with Jack?”

“It's a long story,” Alex answered and raised his eyebrows in shock at the reply coming against his will.

“But you don't notice,” Evander continued, “because the dream protects itself. Stops you asking the right questions. Unless you're Rose, of course, who had this level of the dream figured out ages ago. But you, why do you have four manuals, one each, when you have a crew of eight? Or did you forget about your friends in the infirmary here?”

“But we woke up!” Albert protested.

“Dreams within dreams! Haven't you been listening?” Alex shouted. He'd honestly had enough with the man's constant denial of the facts in front of him.

“But this isn't a dream. I know it isn't,” Bellows insisted.

“No one knows they're not dreaming. You can't ever be sure,” Rose replied.

“Clara? Page number. Make it a good one,” Evander prompted as the scientists grabbed their manuals once more.

“Twelve,” Clara said shakily.

“Very,” Ashley snapped.

“Very,” Albert said as if it being the same word proved his own point.

“Very,” Bellows said, seeming to still have some reservations.

Shona hesitated for a moment before answering, “Dead.” 

After giving them a moment, Evander asked, “And who's going to be the first to admit it?”

“Admit what?” Ashley asked.

“That the pain is still there,” he replied.

“Actually, I think it's getting worse,” Shona admitted as she rubbed at her head.

“Well... there's an alien organism eating your brain. Of course it's getting worse,” Alex said as he began angrily pacing around the room. This was all taking too long, someone was more likely to get hurt with each passing minute.

“Doctor? What are they doing?” Clara asked and everyone looked to see what she was referring to.

On the monitors showing the infirmary, they could see the four sleepers climbing out of their beds and pointing up towards the cameras in the room.

“Factually, getting up. Significantly, sensing the endgame,” Evander replied with a nervous glance towards Alex. Their eyes met and they both agreed that this was about to get even more dangerous.

“How?” Clara asked.

“I don't understand,” Ashley added.

“Well, look at them. Go on! Look at them properly. Look who they are,” Evander prompted and motioned for them to take a closer look at the monitors. “They're you. The sleepers are you.”

“How can they be us?” Shona asked.

“Because we're dreaming, all of us,” Alex explained. “This base isn't real. None of us are actually standing in this room. Rose and I might still be in Victorian London for all we know. Who knows where the rest of you might be, probably scattered all over the world.”

“But, wherever you are, scattered in space and time, the Dream Crabs have got us, and we're all being networked into the same nightmare,” Evander concluded.

“What are they doing?” Bellows asked as the sleepers on the screen seemed to be reaching for their counterparts.

“It's your subconscious again. The sleepers represent the part of your mind that's already surrendered to the attack. They are dream images of what's coming to kill you,” Evander told them quickly as he tried to ascertain the best way out of this situation.

“That's me... That's actually me!” Albert said as he leaned closer to the monitor.

“No, it's a metaphorical construct representing a psychic attack within a shared dreamscape. Do please keep up,” Evander sighed frustratedly.

“But it's me!” Albert said, almost excited by the idea.

“Don't get too close!” Alex warned, but it was too late as the screen started to distort.

“Why?” he asked, not seeing the danger that was already claiming him.

“Because this is a nightmare!” Evander cried as Albert was sucked, head first into the screen and the other scientists were reaching towards their respective sleepers against their will. “Look out! They're coming through! Out! Outside, now!” he bellowed as the creatures leapt through the screens and into the room with them. 

Alex got the door to the outside open and was hurrying everyone through it. “Run, run, run! All of you, go!” Alex shouted as he slammed the door behind him and Evander sealed it with his sonic.

“We'll freeze to death out here,” Bellows protested.

“But it's just a dream,” Shona argued, thinking that would keep them safe somehow.

“This dream just killed your friend! Denying it isn't going to save us,” Rose replied as her tension level snapped. They had gone the last month, maybe even longer where no one had died; not a single person. That alone should have been a clue that something was wrong. Not that she wanted people to die, but the dangerous situations that they were always getting into, meant that more often than not, there were casualties. But in the past month with Evander, all the victims were rescued and all the perpetrators were arrested or sent home.

“Where's Albert? Where's the professor?” Ashley asked in panic.

“He probably just woke up somewhere in the real world, dead,” Evander snapped. “If we don't wake up now, we'll do the same.”

“But how?” Clara asked desperately.

“I don't know,” Evander admitted reluctantly.

The door they had just escaped through started to buckle as the creatures on the other side pounded against the metal.

“The TARDIS! Come on, everyone!” Alex shouted and pulled Rose along behind him.

“But it's not the real TARDIS,” Clara argued.

“Well, let's hope that I dreamed it really well then,” Evander replied, following along with Alex's suggestion.

The door to the TARDIS opened and out walked sleeper versions of Clara, Rose and the Doctors. The creatures stumbled towards them through the snow.

“It's us,” Clara said in shock.

“Of course it's us. We're dreaming too,” Evander replied.

“Oh my god!” Shona gasped as she pointed towards the dozen or so other sleepers that were now shuffling awkwardly towards the group that was shivering both due to the cold wind blowing and the terror they were facing.

“How is that possible? How can there be so many?” Bellows said as she grabbed at her comrades for support.

“The logic of a nightmare,” Alex answered.

Ashley had pulled an emergency flare from one of the pockets in her uniform and lit it. Rose wondered if they really needed a better view of the creatures that were coming to kill them all.

“So, tell us how to wake up,” Shona demanded. “Because you're always talking like you're so clever. You and your partners, going on and on. So, tell us what to do!”

“We have to leave. Get away from the threat, physically,” Alex decided.

“Leave?” Clara asked.

“How do we do that?” Bellows asked. It wasn't as if they had a bunch of snowmobiles ready to go.

“Use your imagination,” Evander said matter-of-factly.

“Of course!” Rose shouted, happily. “We have to dream ourselves home!”

“But how?” Bellows insisted.

“Come on, it's Christmas! The North Pole, who you gonna call?” Evander shouted to the dark, snowy sky.

At the sound of bells, they all looked up to see a sleigh flying through the sky, pulled by three reindeer. The one in front blinked a red light and they heard Santa shouting, “Hyah!” as they flew a tight arc down towards them. As the sleigh came to a stop between them and the sleepers, he called, “Woah! Get in the sleigh. Fortunately, I know all of your home addresses. Hyah!”

With a flick of the reins and a mighty lunge, they were off into the sky, leaving the frightful creatures behind. Rose hugged her Doctors from behind as they both sat in the front of the sleigh with Santa. Beside her sat Clara and Ashley. In the back seat, were Shona and Bellows.

“So, what happens now? This is us just waking up, right?” Clara asked.

“Could be. Well, I hope so. Waking up or...” Evander trailed off in thought.

“Or?” Clara panicked.

“Let's just say that we should be waking up now.... probably,” Alex interrupted.

“Hey. You want to take the reins, Doctor?” Santa offered to Evander.

“You're a dream construct, currently representing either my recovering or expiring mind,” he argued.

“Yes, but do you want a go?” Father Christmas said with a roll of his eyes.

“Tell you what. I had a chance with the flying shark, let's let Alex take it this time,” he replied with the first real smile he'd managed since their aborted trip to Vienna.

Alex smiled as brightly as Rudolph's nose and jumped over Evander's lap to sit next to Santa and took hold of the reins. Evander slid over to sit in front of Rose and leaned back to twine his fingers with hers. With a snap and a whistle, the sleigh jerked faster and looped through the air over London. They circled Big Ben as the bells chimed and Evander pointed towards the London Eye as he took Rose's hand with a smile.

“Look at me! Woooooo hooo hoooooooo!!!” Alex shouted with glee. Suddenly feeling a little worried about crashing into something, he asked Santa, “Maybe you could...?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he replied with a chuckle and retook control of his sleigh.

“I work in a shop,” Shona said suddenly.

“I'm sorry?” Ashley asked.

“I thought I was a scientist. That's rubbish,” she replied.

“Finally, something that makes sense,” Bellows interjected with a smirk.

“Oi! I used to work in a shop!” Rose retorted forcefully.

“And you've always been brilliant, love,” Alex added over his shoulder.

“Perfume,” Ashley said in sudden realization.

“What?” Shona wondered.

“I'm an account manager for perfume. Does this mean we're waking up?” Ashley asked.

“Possibly. With any luck, we'll all wake up in our proper times and places,” Evander responded over the sound of the rushing wind.

“Proper times?” Clara asked curiously.

“Well, I'm pretty sure that Rose and I were in Victorian London, with Madam Vastra when we were taken. We didn't know the information she gave us and hadn't met up with Evander yet. I don't think there were many perfume account managers in the Victorian era,” Alex replied.

“We might not know each other? Not any of us?” Shona asked, sounding really sad with the idea.

“No, possibly not,” Ashley said quietly.

“Well, you know what we should do? We should swap numbers! We should have a reunion,” Shona insisted.

“Bellows!” Ashley cried. As they all looked back, they saw that she had disappeared. They all took a second to calm themselves as they realized that she must have just woken up.

“Um, now I'm pretty sure I can remember my number so... if you memorize it, then you text me, we can go for a curry,” Shona rambled, desperately hoping to keep her new friends.

“The chances of you remembering any of this are very slim,” Evander told her, sadly.

“Well, don't say that. We'll remember, won't we, Ashley?” Shona said with hope in her voice. “Ashley?”

Looking over, they noticed that Ashley too had disappeared from the sleigh.

“Am I next?” Shona asked, “Is it me now?”

“Shona, you're going home. You're surviving,” Clara told her reassuringly.

“Do you want to hang out sometime? We can just hang out,” Shona said, on the verge of tears.

“Sure,” Clara said with a small smile, allowing her the delusion of a reunion for them all.

“Santa, can I stay a bit longer?” Shona asked and in a blink, she too was gone.

“Clara, you ought to go home too. Whether you remember this or not, we'll come for a visit, I promise,” Rose told her with a brief hug.

“I'll hold you to that, Rose. You keep them in line,” Clara said and she closed her eyes. With a resigned sigh, she was gone.

“Will we remember, Doctor?” Rose asked her husbands. “Are we still really married, or did I dream it all?”

“We should remember, but even if we don't, you still have that setting on your sonic to call the TARDIS. We WILL find each other and we all know what we want. Don't worry, darling, if I haven't found you yet, then I will,” Evander said reassuringly.

“Not if we find you first,” Alex added cheekily.

“You did tell me what you wanted for Christmas, Doctor. I wouldn't take your present back. Not now that you really can have Rose back by your side,” Santa told him with a wink.

****************************************************************

In the courtyard of Madam Vastra's manor, Rose and Alex gasped and coughed as beside them they each saw a pile of black dust. As they tried to calm their racing hearts, they clutched at each other as if they might disappear in a flash of light.

Jenny ran outside to see them gasping on the ground. “What in the world happened?” she asked as she ran over to help them up. “It's only been a few minutes, but I saw you laying on the ground out here. Do you need me to fetch the missus?”

“Dream Crabs,” Alex choked out between breaths. “Best not to think on it too much. We don't need more of them coming around.”

Jenny nodded dumbly, knowing that answers from the Doctor often didn't make any sense.

“Should I use my sonic now? To call the TARDIS here,” Rose asked Alex.

Before he could even form a reply, they heard the familiar wheezing of their beloved ship as it materialized right in front of them.


	26. Everyday Can Be Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> definitely NSFW

Chapter Twenty-Six – Everyday Can Be Christmas

 

The door of the TARDIS swung open and what was now a very familiar face appeared. Putting his hands in the pockets of his trousers to show off the red lining of his coat, Evander smiled and said, “Did you miss me?”

Rose and Alex leapt towards him, laughing and he caught them both in a hug that was quite unexpected for this incarnation. The three time travellers spun around happily as Jenny stood nearby and stared at the odd sight. She hadn't had a lot of experience with the grey haired Doctor, but she was sure that she hadn't seen him laughing and hugging people before. Jenny also thought that they said they hadn't met this version of the Doctor, so this seemed a rather overly familiar greeting for strangers.

“Am I missing something?” Jenny asked confusedly. “I thought you said something about him not recognizing you, Rose? Weren't you two nervous about his reaction just a few minutes ago?”

Evander chuckled, “Ah, Jenny. Did they tell you what just happened?”

“Something about Dream Crabs?” she replied.

“Yes, creatures that had us all in a shared dream state for what felt like about a month for the three of us. I'm happy to say that this reunion is much better than the one we remember. Significantly less shouting,” Evander said with a genuine smile.

“Thank you for everything, Jenny. We'll be back for a visit, maybe after we pick up Clara,” Rose said as she turned to enter the TARDIS.

“Alright then, we'll be seeing you, Doctor. Umm... Doctors. I'll inform the mistress,” Jenny said with a small wave towards the time machine.

Alex closed the door behind him and leaned against it as he watched Evander circling the console to send them into the vortex. Rose spun happily around the room with her arms stretched wide, glad to really be home.

“God! My head feels so empty, Doctor!” Rose gasped suddenly. “It's like, you're there, but just barely. Can we fix it, please?”

Evander stood facing her with one hand still on the console and gave her a small grin. “Well, technically, the bond was never there. But yes, darling, we certainly can.”

“And... as we were never all three in the same physical location, I have one heart yet again,” Alex added as he pressed a hand to his chest. “There is a slight bond between us from the mental contact that we had, but nothing like what we thought we had forged.”

“I think we may need to sleep again after we rearrange all this regeneration energy between us and reestablish our bonds the way they should be. Come to bed with me boys?” Rose suggested as she headed deeper into the ship, her long, Victorian dress swishing against the stairs behind her.

Both Doctors recalled exactly what she was wearing under that dress and decided that they would deal with THAT before exhausting themselves with fixing the meta-crisis issue. In their rush to follow Rose up the stairs that led towards their bedroom, Alex and Evander smashed together and got stuck between the railings. Quickly pushing and pulling against each other, they got themselves free and Alex pushed Evander up the stairs ahead of him, following close behind.

Entering the bedroom, Rose saw that the TARDIS had changed it to look just like it had in their dreamscape; the extra closets and larger bed to accommodate all of them looked just as warm and inviting. She removed her shoes and walked towards the bed, just as they had done during their first time doing this.

The look on their faces, however, when they entered the room was NOT the way she remembered it for this particular task. Although, this look was definitely one that she recognized. They both removed their shoes and coats as they approached the bed.

“I think,” Evander said softly, “that it's time for us to unwrap our Christmas present.”

“We certainly don't want to tear the wrapping, though. That dress needs to be worn again at some point,” Alex added with a filthy grin.

“Definitely, but we will not have you sleeping in it again. That couldn't possibly be comfortable for you, darling,” Evander agreed and leaned around her to begin unlacing the back of her dress.

Alex dove under her skirt to undo her garters and remove her stockings, trailing soft kisses down her legs in the process. Rose groaned at the waves of lust she felt coming from him, but placed a hand on each of them to stop their actions.

“Before we keep going, can we fix the bond with you, Evander? I can't stand not feeling you while we do this,” Rose said as she looked deeply into his eyes that looked the brightest blue in the soft light of their room.

“Of course we can, come here,” he said as he pulled Alex up next to him as well. Reaching for both of their temples, they touched either side of his as well.

Rose and Alex felt Evander's icy cool mental touch embrace theirs as he connected the three of them in a bond that would tie their lives together. The instability of the meta-crisis pulled at Rose's energy now that Evander was present and with a bright, golden light encapsulating them mentally and physically, the regeneration energy that the Bad Wolf had infused her with flowed into Alex's body and changed him. 

They had assumed that Rose had twelve regenerations (well, eleven left after she had already used one) and they would be splitting them between the two of them. The Bad Wolf had other plans however and once the energy transfer was complete, they were all thrown into a new dreamscape. This one however was not dangerous.

The New Stuff of Legend stood together with hands clasped as they faced a golden-glowing Rose, in her first incarnation. She smiled at them brightly as she spoke, “This has been a long time coming. The universe needs the three of you, just as much as you need each other. My work is done now, but know this, all three of you have the energy for twelve regenerations now. Make good use of them as you save civilizations, planets and do an awful lot of running.” With a wink and a tongue-touched grin, she disappeared in a flash of light. They all gasped to wakefulness and basked in the renewed connection between them. It was crisper, cleaner and deeper than they had ever felt before and all three were positively buzzing with energy.

“Thank you, my love,” Rose said and she placed her hand on Evander's cheek. He rubbed his hand over hers for a moment and smiled before continuing his efforts to remove her restrictive dress. Now that she could feel them both in her mind once more, Rose basked in their feelings of love and desire as she projected her own feelings to them as well.

Evander's hands were shaking as he touched her bare shoulders in a gentle caress. 

“What's the matter, love?” Rose asked him softly.

“It's just... it was all a dream. What if I'm not any good at this in reality?” he said as he looked away and blushed.

Reaching out to undo the buttons of his shirt, Rose sent him feelings of reassurance, just as she did for Alex on their first wedding night. “It doesn't have to be perfect. It's just something new to learn, love,” she told him gently. The words feeling similar to what she told Alex during his first nervous time with her as well. 

She pulled his shirt from where they tucked into his trousers and off his shoulders. Alex was removing his own clothes while she helped Evander with his. Before long, they were both wrestling with the ties on her corset. Once the offending article was finally removed, she lay back, helplessly as they kissed and caressed every bit of skin they were revealing.

Surprisingly, Evander was the first to kneel between her legs and lick her intimately. Rose cried out in ecstasy and he looked up at Alex for a moment. “You were right, there is nothing as spectacular as her taste. I didn't dream it properly, no wonder you enjoy this so much,” he said with his lips glossy, then dove back down for more.

“Don't I know it,” Alex mumbled as he resumed sucking on her breasts.

Rose dug her fingers into Alex's luscious hair and pressed her chest harder against his mouth, arching her back. She moaned and sent them mental caresses that touched areas she couldn't physically reach from their current positions. They hummed happily and those vibrations only pushed her higher.

Evander decided it was time to add his long, slender fingers into the mix and stroked her insides as his tongue circled her clit swiftly. In less than a minute, she fell over the edge and her muscles clenched around his fingers repeatedly as he slowed his movements to ease her back to reality.

Rose tried to catch her breath as her Doctors seemed to be having a mental conversation about what to do next. They seemed to come to a decision and Rose found herself in position for something that they had definitely not tried before. 

She was between them on her side, with Evander in front of her and Alex behind. Evander lifted her leg and hooked it over his hip as he slid into her easily. Behind her, Alex stroked her side softly and whispered in her ear, “We haven't tried this before, if it's uncomfortable, just say the word and we'll stop.”

Unsure of exactly what they were planning, she simply nodded and enjoyed everything they gave her. 

Alex positioned himself at her entrance next to where Evander was already buried within. She felt both of them send her waves of reassurance at her momentary panic. She wasn't sure how she would manage to take both of them at the same time, but trusted that they had probably researched this thoroughly beforehand.

With a mighty thrust, Rose suddenly felt stretched to her limit and gasped. Her Doctors froze in place and just waited for her to acclimate and relax before they moved again. Slowly, she began to breathe again and as her grip on Evander's arm relaxed, they took that as a green light to go ahead.

Three bodies slid together like a well oiled machine as all of them felt an ecstasy they never thought possible rising like a phoenix between them. Their activities before had always been simultaneous acts of pleasure between Rose and each Doctor. Never before had there been this kind of contact between the two Doctors, but the connection that they all felt now with this synchronicity was astounding. It made the memory of their dreamed bond pale to nothing in comparison.

Rose's mind was projecting her feelings of soaring ever higher and as she shattered over the precipice, she brought both of them with her in three blinding and shared orgasms. Alex and Evander held onto each other tightly through their release, resulting in squeezing their wife crushingly between them.

When the waves of mutual pleasure had finally finished crashing, they collapsed in a sweaty heap on the bed. They were happily exhausted and tumbled back onto the pillows with Rose sandwiched between her Doctors almost immediately asleep.

The TARDIS lowered the lights and they slept happily, knowing that there were still some uncomfortable conversations yet to be had. They needed to make sure that Clara was alright; see if she remembered any of the dream episode. And they should go back to visit Vastra, Jenny and Strax again soon as well. But for now, they would bask in the reality of each other.


	27. Hello, Clara

Chapter Twenty-Seven – Hello, Clara 

After a day or so of lazing around and basking in their proper reunion, Rose and her Doctors decided that it was time to go visit Clara. And so, following a shared shower and getting dressed with repeated interruptions, the New Stuff of Legend took their places at the console and aimed for the day after Christmas. They didn't want to interrupt any family gatherings she may have had, but also didn't want to wait too long in case she did remember the events with the Dream Crabs and felt abandoned.

“Doctor,” Rose said with a touch to Evander's arm. “When you talk to her, be gentle in any mentions of Danny.”

“What? Why? Shouldn't he be hanging around too?” he said, looking genuinely confused.

Alex groaned and rubbed a hand over his face.

“Based on the memories that you shared with me, I'm willing to bet that no, he isn't. I don't think he came back, love,” Rose told him gently.

“Really?” he asked as he stared into the distance blankly. “Why would she lie about that?”

“Why did you lie about finding Gallifrey?” Alex asked as he looked at Evander like he had dribbled on his shirt.

“You were both trying to give the other person a way out. No guilt about leaving them alone, then. It was another version of your usual 'I'm always alright' excuse,” Rose explained.

“Alright, I'll try to keep that in mind. Do you think it would be best if I talked to her first, before introducing you two?” he asked, acknowledging Rose's obviously superior knowledge with respect to a human woman's emotions.

“Yeah, probably. Unless she remembers the dream, of course. But even then, maybe some discussion without us around might be a good idea. She was shocked by it all when you told her in the dream. She will be shocked again, but maybe there's a gentler way to break it to her this time,” she replied with an expression that said they'd all dropped the ball on breaking that news.

“Ok... Thank you, Rose. I don't usually get second chances and I've had so many chances with you. I've given up on pushing you away any more. You just keep coming back anyway,” Evander said with a smirk and a kiss to her forehead.

“Good idea,” she said as she squeezed him around the waist.

“Well, we've landed near Clara's place, but not inside it. So, you go knock on the door and we'll go grab some lunch. You and Clara can join us when you're done talking. How's that sound?” Alex suggested as he took Rose's hand.

“Knock? Like a normal person?” Evander asked with a slightly disgusted look on his face.

Rose laughed, “Yes, like a normal person.”

They went their separate ways when they left the TARDIS and Evander walked to Clara's door. It felt suspiciously like that time that he visited the Ponds at Christmas after they thought he was dead. He rang the bell and waited impatiently.

He was just about to ring the bell repeatedly when Clara opened the door and the startled look on her face told him that she didn't remember any of the Dream Crab incident. She wasn't expecting to see him.

“Doctor? What... what are you doing here?” Clara stuttered.

“Well, I.... I was wondering if you had noticed a rather disturbing pile of black dust near you when waking up recently,” he said. It was true, he had been wondering about that. It wasn't the entire reason he was here, but it wasn't completely a lie.

“Umm, yeah. Yeah, I did. Just yesterday in fact. Did that have something to do with you?” she asked suspiciously with a raised eyebrow.

“Sort of. Do you mind if I come in?” he asked more politely than usual.

“Sure. You're being awfully nice all of a sudden,” she said as she led him inside towards her sitting room. “Why are you really here, Doctor? I thought you'd be off on Gallifrey, being a king or something.”

“I never found Gallifrey,” he admitted quietly.

Clara sat down and folded her hands in her lap. She nodded quietly for a moment before saying, “Danny didn't come back. Only one person could use the bracelet to come back and he sent a little boy through instead.”

They both sat in silence for what felt like a horribly uncomfortable length of time.

“Clara, I have some news to share with you, but it's difficult to explain. First, I need to ask you what do you remember about my leather-clad self? The one after the war,” he began, trying to think of the easiest way to explain Rose and Alex's existence before explaining their current relationship.

“Umm... the memories are all pretty fuzzy. They're jumbled up because there's too much, but umm, I think it was Krakatoa?” she said with a thoughtful look.

He barked out a laugh at the irony that she was the one to send him back to get Rose to begin with. “And from my pinstriped self?” he asked.

“Something at the Library, one other time... can't remember where, but you were really depressed, and then obviously that stuff in England with Queen Elizabeth,” she replied. “What's this all about?”

“Back when I wore that black, leather jacket, I met a girl named Rose Tyler. I met her before Krakatoa actually, but when I asked her to come along, she refused.” Evander smiled softly as he stared at his hands. “Right after surviving that stupid volcano, however, I went back and asked her again. She healed my battered soul after the war, Clara. She was like sunshine after decades of night,” he told their story quietly and didn't meet her eyes, but she listened, just letting him talk.

“After about a year together, we found ourselves on a space station orbiting the Earth and controlled by a massive Dalek fleet. The only way to destroy them, was to create a delta wave that would kill not only the Daleks, but everyone on the space station and the Earth as well. To keep Rose safe, I tricked her into the TARDIS and sent her home. Sound familiar?” he asked rhetorically.

Clara nodded silently, as she clenched her hands together around the blanket she had pulled into her lap.

“Just like you, she wouldn't accept that. Rose ripped open the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the time vortex. She and the TARDIS merged then, both of one mind. They flew back to me, destroyed all of the Daleks, and though we didn't know it at the time, she made it possible for herself to regenerate into a Time Lady as well,” he paused here as he contemplated just how much of their story she really needed to know.

“Later, when I wore pinstripes, we were separated. She was trapped in a parallel universe, but as Rose has a tendency to do, she did the impossible and came back. Do you remember when I told you that I kept that face for an extra regeneration?” he asked. At her nod, he continued, “I did that for her. Just as we were reuniting, I was shot by a Dalek and I was terrified that if I regenerated, she wouldn't want to stay with me again. But in the process of trying to keep from changing, I ended up creating a half-human version of myself. Being the self-destructive soul that I am, when the opportunity arose, I thought I was doing everyone a favour by sending her back to the parallel universe with him for a lovely happily ever after.”

“Because that always works,” Clara interjected sarcastically. He looked up at her for a moment and saw that she was shaking her head at him for seemingly missing the obvious again.

“I know. They're back. Both of them,” he admitted, finally. “And we're together now. The ... the three of us. I mean, umm... properly together,” he began to stumble over his words, hoping that she would understand what he meant without having to explain further.

“That was a very long time ago for you, Doctor,” Clara said frankly.

“It was. But it doesn't matter. I've never loved anyone, the way I love Rose Tyler. I barely knew my wife on Gallifrey, Elizabeth and Marilyn were accidents and River was... well, River was complicated. I love all of my companions, but my hearts have belonged to my pink and yellow girl for over a thousand years,” he concluded with a look of genuine joy spreading over his face. The expression made his wrinkles almost disappear and years that seemed engraved since his regeneration melted away; he looked like a new man once more.

“Clara, I know that you loved Danny. I also know that our relationship before I regenerated got a bit... confused. I had lost so much at that point and in my running from everything painful, I gave you the wrong impression,” he paused for a moment to consider the best way to explain why he had always drawn that line between himself and his companions.

“Doctor, I'm not jealous or anything. I mean, it's great that she's back. I'm happy for you,” the slight tremble in her voice, however, said that her sincerity was questionable, but she was doing her best.

“Clara, it's ok,” he said and he reached out to take her hand in his. “I'm not questioning your love for Danny. As I told you after I regenerated, I never said it was your mistake. I was the one that gave you the wrong impression. For most species, visual cues of age dictate attraction. You are attracted to someone that is similar to you in age because it means that you'll have the best chance of the longest life together, with as little pain afterwards as possible.

“Visual cues for my species mean nothing. I looked even older at the end of my first life than I do now, Clara. You know that; you saw me. When I first met Rose, I looked twice her age, but it didn't matter to her. Without other Time Lords around, there would be no one who would match my remaining days, especially now that I have a whole new set of regenerations. For me to attach myself to a human, would be like you falling head over heels for a human who was over a hundred years old and living on borrowed time already.

“I never should have fallen for Rose the way I did. Her existence to mine was like a feather in the wind, but I couldn't help it. It was only by the grace of her own foolhardy actions and my TARDIS that I can have her with me now,” at that, he finally stopped talking and waited for her response.

Clara sat quietly and thought for a moment. Coming to some kind of decision, she took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “Ok, Doctor. I understand. And while it is a little bit hard, I can accept your apology for giving me the wrong impression before. I had moved past all of that, when Danny and I got together. But my brain is such a jumble since he died, that I'm not sure what to think about anything anymore,” she paused a moment and looked at him with a soft smile. “Can I meet her?”

Returning her smile, Evander stood up and offered her his hand. With a mental query to Alex, Evander directed Clara to the cafe where he and Rose were already eating lunch. Alex and Rose smiled as they stood to welcome them to the table, set for four.

“Sorry, we started without you,” Rose said as she extended her hand in greeting. “I'm Rose, as I'm sure he told you. It's so nice to meet you, Clara.”

“Oh, not a problem,” Clara replied as she shook hands with both Rose and Alex. “No telling what could have happened along the way to prevent the Doctor from getting somewhere in a timely fashion.”

“Too right!” Rose said and laughed as she threaded her arms through those of each of her Doctors and they all sat down.

Evander and Clara both ordered some lunch and attempts at conversation became a little awkward.

~'You were right, Rose. About Danny,'~ Evander said to his spouses, silently.

~'Should we invite her along, do you think?'~ Rose asked.

~'I think she'd like that,'~ he replied.

When they were all finishing their meals, Rose decided that she needed to be the one to extend this olive branch. She cleared her throat and asked, “Clara? Would you like to come along for a while? I mean, we'll try to behave ourselves, but we are still kind of in that honeymoon stage...” she trailed off awkwardly.

“Yes!” she shouted quickly. “I mean, yeah... yes, yes of course, I'd love to come,” she said in a more normal, if flustered voice. “But, what do you mean, honeymoon? Are you actually married, then?” she asked, pointing between the three of them.

“Well, yes. I know it's a little unusual for this time period, but yeah, the three of us are married. Well.... there wasn't an official wedding when we included him in the mix, and I suppose since the actual bit of ceremony that we DID do was while immersed in a dreamscape, one could say, sort of. BUT since the intentions and connections...” Alex rambled to a stop when he noticed they were all staring at him.

“Doctor, seriously!” Rose gently scolded him with a chuckle. “Yes, Clara. We are, but this one,” she said with a thumb pointed towards Evander, “never got the big wedding part of it. Said it wasn't important.”

“Well, of course it's important!” Clara said excitedly.

Evander immediately had a panicked expression on his face as he realized where this conversation was going. He stood up from the table where they were seated and they followed him from the cafe with matching grins. He shook a finger warningly at all of them as he backed away. “No, no, no. No no no no no.... We are NOT going to have some kind of fancy, unnecessary, human ... thing... with, with dresses and... things.”

Alex was trying to contain his laughter as Rose wrapped herself around Evander's arm and fluttered her eyelashes at him. Clara seemed to be having just as much trouble containing her laughter as Alex was.

“I have a feeling we won't be able to skip it this time, love,” Rose told him with a smile.

Evander's head fell forward and his shoulders slumped as he noted that he would never be able to deny Rose if this was something that she wanted.

“I think I'd better get to work on splitting this pendant and copying my ring... again,” Alex said as he bumped his shoulder against Evander's.

“Just to be clear, I am only doing this because Rose wants me to. I would never do this for anyone else,” Evander protested loudly to all of them. “And don't expect ME to plan anything.”

Rose hugged him around the neck and pressed her forehead against his temple as she sent him the multitude of mental caresses that she knew he loved. Evander had always seemed to prefer mental contact to physical. “Don't worry, my love. We'll take care of everything. Think about how long Jack has been waiting to see us married,” she teased. 

He groaned inwardly at the thought of how Jack would behave at their wedding. And what would he wear? Clothing was definitely going to be mandatory.

They walked together back to the TARDIS and Clara seemed to hesitate as they approached the door. Rose looked at her questioningly. “What's wrong, Clara? You did say that you wanted to come, right?”

Clara seemed to be startled out of her thoughts at the question. “Oh! Yes, of course. It's just been a while since I did this,” she said nervously.

“Clara, I understand completely. I was separated from the Doctor for years before I found a way back. And then we spent another year with just us before we found him again,” Rose told her with a reassuring pat to her arm. “Come to the wardrobe with me. I need to find a wedding dress and I'm not sure what will look nice since the last time I wore one; I was shorter and curvier than this.”

“Really?” Clara asked and they chatted amiably as they walked into the ship towards the wardrobe room.

Alex and Evander watched them leave, then looked at each other appraisingly.

“You know Rose will want Jack to be there. We'd best try to find him. Did you want to work on that while I go work on the pendant?” Alex asked diplomatically.

Heaving a mighty sigh, he waved Alex off to work on his project and started the TARDIS scanning for Jack at some point after they had last seen him. He monitored the progress of the scans on the edge of his consciousness as he considered how lovely Rose would look. Who else should be there? He supposed that they should probably have Vastra, Jenny and Strax since they already knew about Rose and Alex. They had helped explain the intervening years for them before their reunion. They certainly couldn't have a wedding for a relationship of three in Victorian England, however. 

He contemplated possible times and places before shaking his head and adamantly NOT planning any more details about this silly event that he wasn't going to enjoy.


	28. How Many Wedding Nights?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> there is more to come after this in the series, but this is the end of this part of the story

Chapter Twenty-Eight – How Many Wedding Nights?

After much fussing over clothes, making of secret presents, and retrieval of several guests, the TARDIS materialized on a sunny, apple grass covered hill on New Earth. The doors opened and out bounced Alex, followed by Mickey and Martha, Sarah Jane, Clara, Vastra, Jenny, and Strax. 

“What is that smell?” Jenny asked curiously, pulling the gorgeous scent deeply into her lungs.

“Disgusting, isn't it?” Strax replied with his usual scowl.

“I think it's lovely,” Martha said and Jenny nodded her enthusiastic agreement.

Alex smiled and leaned down to pluck some of the grass. “Rose's favourite - apple grass!” he exclaimed cheerfully with a bright smile. “This was the first trip we took after I regenerated and defeated the Sycorax in that sword fight. You remember, don't you, Rickey?”

Mickey scowled at him and Alex shot him a wink.

“And what trouble did you get into here? Where are we by the way?” Sarah Jane asked, knowing that the Doctor could never go anywhere without finding some kind of problem to fix.

“We are on New Earth. That city over there is New New York, although technically, it's the fifteenth New York since the original. So, it's really New new new new...” Alex babbled happily.

“New new new... Yeah we know,” Martha interrupted. “I'll bet you just came back here to be able to say that again. Although, it looks better from here than where you brought me.”

“Well... I always like to be specific. And there really aren't enough 'news' in the official name of the city. But really, I did choose here because Rose loved it. We had a picnic just over there,” he said with a dreamy smile. “As far as the trouble we got into, well... the cat nurses at the hospital were growing humans to experiment on so that they could make a cure for every disease and Rose was possessed by a psychotic flap of skin calling herself the last human, but it all turned out well in the end.”

“I suppose possessed is a little worse than getting kidnapped by car jackers,” Martha cringed.

“Not to worry, we are here in the year five billion two hundred and seventy-eight. That's two hundred and twenty-five years after we rescued everyone from the motorway, Martha. They've long since cleaned up from that mess and I've reserved several rooms in the best hotel for all of us. A nice little vacation,” Alex explained happily. There was no shaking his mood today.

Evander exited the TARDIS then, being pushed by Jack. Alex and Evander were wearing matching tuxedos and Jack was wearing a very fetching, dark blue suit. Jack rubbed his hands together excitedly.

“I can't tell all of you how long I have been waiting for this,” Jack said excitedly as he moved people around to where he wanted everyone to stand. “The happy trio have asked me to officiate today. An honour that I am only too happy to fulfill. As you may or may not be aware, both Doctors have taken on a new name for the sake of individuality, but also filled with meaning. As well as taking on Rose's surname in respect of her family, who lost their lives approximately eight months ago in Rose's timeline.”

Rose emerged from the TARDIS in a lovely, cream dress. The neckline and short sleeves were made entirely of floral lace, which also trimmed the bottom of the knee length skirt. White flowers were woven into her hair and she had a small bouquet of white flowers as well.

Rose moved to stand in front of Jack and between her Doctors with a beaming smile. Alex and Evander took her arm on either side and all of their friends gathered around them, closing the circle.

“We have all gathered here, on this gorgeous hillside of New Earth, to publicly unite Doctor Alex Tyler, Rose Tyler and Doctor Evander Tyler in bonds that none can break. I knew from the moment I met Rose and the Doctor that they were soul mates. They spent years denying it to themselves and each other. They spent years regretting that denial when they were separated, but those days are over. The bonds that are created in the loving marriages of telepathic races are deep and permanent. The three of you will never be alone again and I couldn't be happier for you,” Jack said and wiped a tear from his cheek.

Alex pulled a box out of his pocket, handing it to Jack who held it open in front of the trio. On the velvet lining, sat three pendants on gold chains and three wedding bands. Rose picked up one of the orange and gold pendants and placed it around Alex's neck, then took the wedding band for him as well. 

As she placed it on his finger, she said, “Doctor Alex Tyler, I gladly give myself to you again today, as your wife. You were/are/ever will be the most precious and beloved person in all my lives, past, present, and future. My hearts always have/do/will yearn for yours to be near me and make me whole.” She then repeated the last sentiment in Gallifreyan, as she had when they first exchanged pendants on Gallifrey.

Turning towards Evander, Rose took the other rectangular pendant from the box and placed it around his neck with a soft smile. He smiled back at her as she slid his wedding band onto his finger and said to him, “Doctor Evander Tyler, I gladly give myself to you today as your wife. You were/are/ever will be the most precious and beloved person in all my lives, past, present, and future. My hearts always have/do/will yearn for yours to be near me and make me whole.” Once again, she repeated the last statement in Gallifreyan for him.

Knowing that Evander would find the pendant more meaningful, Alex let him put that on Rose's neck as he put the ring on her finger.

Evander cleared his throat nervously as he felt a lump forming there before speaking, “Rose Marion Tyler, I gladly give myself to you today, as your husband. You were/are/ever will be the most precious and beloved person in all my lives, past, present, and future. My hearts always have/do/will yearn for yours to be near me and make me whole.” He said the last phrase again in Gallifreyan, as she had and a single tear made its way down his cheek. Rose gently reached up to wipe it away and pulled him to her for a sweet kiss. With her eyes still closed, Rose pressed her forehead against his, silently rejoicing in their union. When finished, she turned to Alex, her happy smile a little damp.

Alex squeezed her hand and said softly, “Rose Marion Tyler, I gladly give myself to you today, as your husband. You were/are/ever will be the most precious and beloved person in all my lives, past, present, and future. My hearts always have/do/will yearn for yours to be near me and make me whole.” As he took the final turn in pledging the Gallifreyan statement, he kissed his wife reverently and thoroughly as he dipped her backwards, his hands supportively on her back and in her hair. Their friends all burst into startled applause.

Jack took a shimmering golden ribbon from his pocket and the trio held up their left hands together in front of them. Weaving the ribbon through their wrists in a loose hand fasting, he said, “I am very happy to pronounce the three of you, officially married!” Taking advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity, Jack grabbed Evander's face in both hands and gave him a solid kiss on the lips before moving to give the same to Alex, and then Rose.

Much to Evander's dismay, there followed a lot more hugging and congratulations. Alex tucked the ribbon safely away in his pocket before embarrassing his husband by hugging him around the waist and picking him up in a spin. Evander protested loudly which only earned him a kiss on the cheek before Alex set him back on his feet. Rose's laughter rang across the hillside at their antics and thought that she could never feel happier.

From the hidden pockets in her wedding dress, Rose pulled out two rectangular gift boxes, each tied with a bright, TARDIS blue ribbon. Handing one to each of her Doctors, they looked at her curiously.

“What's this?” Evander asked.

“It's a wedding present,” she said with a satisfied smile. She was very proud of herself for these presents. She had to get some help from the TARDIS, but managed to find all of the parts she needed and made some much needed adjustments as well.

Alex and Evander opened their gifts simultaneously to find that Rose had made each of them a shiny new sonic screwdriver. Alex's was slightly larger than his old one. It was finished in brushed nickel, with crisscrossing grooves filled with navy blue for the grip section, it was completely new yet still had a bright blue light on the end. Evander's was a little smaller than the clawed version he had been using. His was shiny black with a gold handle and a red light on the end, like hers.

They both thanked her with thorough snogs that were clearly an attempt to outdo each other.

After many cheers and congratulations, the group reentered the TARDIS so that Rose and the Doctors could relocate them in the city, near their hotel. Everyone changed clothes to be more appropriate for a night on the town of New New York and met back in the Lobby below.

“So, how many wedding nights have we tallied up now, love?” Alex asked as the large entourage strolled down the busy streets of New New York.

“Ooh, do we count the ones that happened while immersed in a telepathic, multi-consciousness gestalt dreamscape?” Rose asked cheekily.

“God, I love it when you talk like that,” Evander leaned in next to her and whispered deeply in her ear as he nuzzled her cheek.

“Are we going to have to watch the three of them making kissy faces all night?” Mickey asked the rest of the group. His face making it plain what he thought about that idea.

“I think it's sweet,” Sarah Jane said with a smile, swatting Mickey playfully on the arm.

“It's so weird seeing this Doctor, Evander I mean, acting like that. He's been completely anti-hug since he regenerated. But, he also seems happier than I've ever seen him, even the last him,” Clara commented as she eyed some holographic advertisements in a store as they passed.

“How about dinner?” Jack asked the group at large. “I know this great restaurant, not far from here and they even have dancing! Perfect for a little wedding reception.”

The Time Lords and humans voiced their agreements with the plan, Vastra gave into her wife's wishes and Strax grumbled something about grenades. Taking the majority vote, Jack led the group to a lovely establishment that was decorated in dazzling gold and ivory.

Seating the eleven people without a reservation was challenging, but with a flash of the psychic paper, management dropped everything to accommodate the Empress' party. Rose was happy to adopt that title for the evening and her husbands made sure that she felt like an Empress as well.

After dinner, Rose danced with Alex, Evander, Jack, Mickey, Alex and Evander at the same time, and even dragged Strax onto the dance floor at one point. They were all having a marvellous time, which meant that the crisis came right on cue.

There were crashes and several people screaming as a large, green blob of slime sloshed across the floor. The members of their group were immediately on their feet and looking to the Doctors for some kind of plan.

“First question is?” Evander prompted.

“What does it want?” Rose supplied.

“Second question is?” Alex asked.

“Where are my grenades?” Strax asked, very seriously.

Everyone turned to glare at him simultaneously. Alex wondered what in the world could have possessed friends of his to team up with a Sontaran of all people.

“How about we establish if it's dangerous first? No sense in blowing up or possibly simply angering the maybe misunderstood, giant slimy thing?” Alex argued as he leaned closer to the baked potato's face.

“Yes, sir,” Strax said, reluctantly. “However, I shall prepare my best explosives to be ready when it begins to slowly devour you, sir.”

Feeling like she was probably one of the most diplomatic people present, Rose stepped towards the blob and put on the air of the Empress she was pretending to be. She had practiced this quite a bit during the trial where she presided over her husband prosecuting himself.

“My name is Rose, may I ask what it is you are looking for here, ... sir?” she said with all the confidence one can muster while addressing a slime monster.

The large blob of goo, burbled as hundreds of tiny sparks of light flickered inside it. It looked like some kind of communication, so Rose looked back to her husbands for a little assistance. Evander was staring at the lights, trying to find patterns in the chaos, and Alex was scanning the thing with his new sonic.

“Ooh,” Alex said as he checked the readings. “Nanobots! There's a swarm of nanobots inside, that are holding it together and controlling it.”

“So, is someone else controlling the nanobots remotely?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Now there's a thought. Will we even be able to communicate with it or the person controlling it?” Rose considered.

“Well, it doesn't seem to be answering your question, Rose,” came Jenny's response as she continued to watch the thing ooze closer to them.

“But is that because it cannot or because it chooses not to answer?” Vastra questioned as she stood protectively near her wife.

“Can I blow it up now?” Strax interrupted.

“Hold your horses there, Spudman,” Mickey said as he leaned his elbow on Strax's shoulder.

The sparkling lights that made the thing look like a blob of glitter glue, stopped and it slid away from their face-off towards the now vacated tables. Suddenly expanding, it engulfed several tables and chairs within itself. Then, it appeared the nanobots were breaking down the solids into more slime and the central blob grew significantly.

“Ok, that's definitely a problem,” Alex squeaked and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Can we use the sonic to interrupt the signals between the nanobots? Break it all apart that way?” Rose asked quickly as she retrieved her own from her bigger-on-the-inside pocket.

“That's brilliant, love!” Alex exclaimed.

“But will it stop them? Or will they just keep reforming again, possibly into more than one?” she asked, wanting to be sure that they wouldn't just make it more angry, more dangerous, or possibly more numerous.

“If we use setting three hundred and eighty-six C, we should be able to short them out permanently, so that they can't function as a group again. Let's all three of us do it, to make sure we get them all before it realizes what's happening and attacks us,” Evander replied and started flicking through the settings on his new screwdriver. Rose noted that this style seemed to suit him much more than his last one, in her opinion.

As the three of them pointed their sonics together towards the green blob, it seemed to notice their slightly aggressive stance and turned to charge at them. The friends behind them began to back away slowly and the Time Lords all activated their sonics just in time. Despite it losing cohesion before it reached them, the resulting wave of what appeared to be melting, green jell-o, crashed over the group, coating them all in a sticky mess.

Clara, Martha and Sarah Jane looked at each other with disgust written clearly on their faces. Jenny and Vastra rolled their eyes at the inevitability of something like this happening while the Doctor, now Doctors, were around. Strax grumbled about grenades being more effective. Mickey just shook his head as he watched Alex, Evander, Rose and Jack dissolve into hysterical laughter.

When the restaurant manager entered the room and began to survey the damages, Rose simply took the arms of her husbands and with the grace of an Empress, her head held high despite being covered in sticky green slime, marched directly out of the establishment. The rest of them followed carefully as they tried not to slip on the mess that covered the floor and themselves.

“How many more days did you say we'd be here, Doctor?” Mickey asked worriedly.

“Oh, I booked a whole week!” Alex replied happily and grinned back at them over his shoulder.

Martha and Sarah Jane groaned simultaneously. If this was the trouble they managed to find during their first evening here, what would the rest of the week be like? Maybe the girls should find a nice spa to hide themselves in.


End file.
